Podcast: How can stakeholders in Saudi Arabia unlock the potential of voluntary carbon markets?

Pathways to achieving net zero: how can stakeholders in Saudi Arabia and the region unlock the potential of voluntary carbon markets?

Global disruptions in energy markets, particularly the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and coming out of the Covid-19 crisis, have led to the resurgence of the energy trilemma: the balance between ensuring security supply, decarbonization, and affordability of our energy sources. However, developing new energy sources is the only way to give us a fighting chance of limiting global warming to 1.5°C by 2050. Transformational changes to the global and regional economy, including the pricing of greenhouse gases (GHGs), can allow us to reach net zero targets. Establishing compliance and voluntary carbon markets (VCMs) will be critical topics to tackle at COP28 in the UAE. In Saudi Arabia, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) launched the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Regional Voluntary Carbon Market in collaboration with Tadawul Group with a $133 million capital. Globally, VCMs are expected to reach between $10 billion and $40 billion in 2023, according to a Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report. How can stakeholders in Saudi Arabia and the region unlock the potential of Voluntary Carbon Markets (VCMs)?

Featured Speakers:

• Dr. Fahad A Al-Sherehy, Vice President of Energy Efficiency & Carbon Management, SABIC
• Riham El Gizy, Chief Executive Officer, Voluntary Carbon Markets, Public Investment Fund (PIF)
• Dr. Yousef Alshammari, Honorary Senior Research Fellow, Imperial College London, Former Research Fellow, OPEC; CEO and Head of Oil Research, CMarkits
• Anwar Gasim, Research Fellow, Climate and Sustainability, King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC)
• Omar Saleh, Vice President, Enterprise Business, Microsoft Arabia