UAE Climate Law 2026: GHG Reporting Deadline & Fines

Quick answer

The UAE Climate Law 2026 makes every business, free zones included, register on the MRV system and report Scope 1 and 2 emissions. Fines reach AED 2 million.

19 June 2026 — Insight Advisory — insightadvisory.ae

Every business operating in the UAE, on the mainland or inside a free zone, now sits under a federal duty to measure and report its greenhouse-gas emissions, with the first compliance deadline having fallen on 30 May 2026 and penalties reaching AED 2 million for those that do not comply. This briefing explains what the UAE Climate Law 2026 requires, who is in scope, what must be filed on the national MRV system, the fines for inaction, and the steps a business that has not yet registered should take.

Background

Federal Decree-Law No. 11 of 2024 on the Reduction of the Effects of Climate Change was issued on 28 August 2024 and entered into force on 30 May 2025. It is the UAE’s first binding, economy-wide climate statute, replacing a patchwork of voluntary sustainability initiatives with a single mandatory regime. The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) administers the law and enforces it through inspections, audits and corrective orders. The mechanism at the centre of the regime is the national Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) platform at mrv.ae, where entities register and submit their emissions data.

What the UAE Climate Law 2026 requires

By the first compliance deadline, an in-scope entity must register on the MRV platform, measure its greenhouse-gas emissions across Scope 1 and Scope 2, prepare an emissions inventory, and submit it to MOCCAE in the approved format. Scope 1 covers direct emissions from sources the business controls, such as fuel combustion and company vehicles. Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from purchased electricity and district cooling. Beyond reporting, the law expects entities to plan and document greenhouse-gas reduction measures, and to retain the supporting data for at least five years so that it can be audited.

The 30 May 2026 deadline and a possible extension

The first reporting deadline fell on 30 May 2026. In April 2026, MOCCAE indicated that this date may be extended while technical guidance and the law’s Executive Regulation are finalised, but no revised date has been confirmed and the underlying obligation is unchanged. Businesses should treat the deadline as live rather than wait for an extension: registration, data collection and verification take time, and a grace period, if granted, only widens the window to complete the same work. Reporting is periodic, so this is a recurring annual obligation, not a one-off filing.

Who is in scope: no thresholds, free zones included

The law applies to all public and private entities whose activities generate greenhouse-gas emissions, regardless of size, sector, or whether they operate on the mainland or within a free zone. There is no minimum threshold based on turnover, headcount or emissions volume, which makes this one of the broadest compliance obligations on the UAE statute book. A small trading company in a free zone is caught by the same registration duty as a large industrial operator, even if the volume of data it eventually reports is modest.

Scope 1 and 2 now, Scope 3 expected from 2027

For the current cycle, mandatory reporting is limited to Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. Scope 3, which captures indirect emissions across a company’s value chain, including suppliers and downstream use of products, is anticipated to become mandatory from 2027, although that has not yet been confirmed in law. Businesses with complex supply chains should nonetheless begin mapping their Scope 3 footprint now, because gathering that data is the most time-consuming part of climate reporting and a 2027 mandate would leave little room to start from scratch.

Penalties of up to AED 2 million

Non-compliance carries a fine of between AED 50,000 and AED 2,000,000 for a first violation, rising to as much as AED 4,000,000 for repeat offences committed within two years. Financial penalties are not the only exposure: MOCCAE can also exclude non-compliant entities from government procurement and, in serious cases, order the suspension of operations. For any business that bids for public contracts, the procurement exclusion may bite harder than the fine itself.

Action steps

Register your entity on the national MRV platform at mrv.ae, create an administrator account, and assign roles for data provision and validation.
Gather Scope 1 and Scope 2 source data now, including fuel receipts, utility and district-cooling bills, and refrigerant records.
Prepare a Scope 1 and 2 emissions inventory in the MOCCAE-approved format and submit it through the platform.
Document a greenhouse-gas reduction plan and retain all supporting records for at least five years.
Begin mapping your Scope 3 value-chain emissions ahead of an expected 2027 mandate.

Sources

Need tailored advice?

Insight Advisory helps UAE companies map new federal obligations onto their operations, from climate and MRV registration to wider corporate compliance. Speak to our corporate law team about where the Climate Law leaves your business.