Abu Dhabi will verify emissions, not just collect them

The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) has issued Resolution No. (03) of 2026 on the measurement, reporting and verification of greenhouse gas emissions, the Abu Dhabi Media Office announced on 21 September. It applies to facilities in targeted sectors whose emissions are at or above specified thresholds, and it rests on Federal Decree-Law No. (11) of 2024.

Facilities must register with EAD, prepare emissions measurement plans and reports, and have those reports verified by EAD-registered verifiers who meet standards of technical competence and independence. EAD will build and run a digital emissions database.

From disclosure to evidence

The federal law’s first reporting deadline fell on 30 May 2026, according to Khaleej Times, with fines of Dh50,000 to Dh2 million. Abu Dhabi’s framework adds the step that changes behaviour: a third party checks the numbers.

Sustainability must improve project performance, resilience and long-term value. It cannot exist only as a branding layer.

For new assets, the practical consequence is that emissions data has to be designed in. Metering, data ownership and reporting lines are cheapest to settle during design and handover, and hardest to retrofit once an asset is operating and its first verification is due.

What project teams should settle early

• Which facilities in a project fall within the targeted sectors and thresholds
• What is metered, by whom, and how the data reaches the operator
• Who prepares the measurement plan, and when verification first applies
• How the emissions record is handed over with the asset

Treating sustainability as measurable requirements with named owners, rather than a statement of intent, is now a compliance matter as well as good practice.