Riyadh to set up voluntary carbon platform
SUMMARY
The oil-rich kingdom is moving steadily to green its economy.
By Daniel GraeberSaudi Arabia said September 3 it intended to set up a voluntary platform for offsets and carbon credits in the greater Middle East.
The official Saudi Press Agency reported the country’s public investment fund would work with the Saudi Tadawul Group, a holding company, to set up the Riyadh Voluntary Exchange Platform.
“This initiative will come to be the primary destination and main platform for companies and institutes that target reducing their emissions, or contributing towards that, through the trading of verified, approved and high-quality carbon equivalent credits certificates,” the official news agency reported.
The move is a continuation of greener initiatives in the Saudi kingdom. The head of Saudi Aramco, among the largest oil producers in the world, said August 9 that low-carbon fuels are part of its strategic focus.
And during a June visit to Riyadh, John Kerry, the US special envoy for climate, said both governments affirmed their intent to work collaboratively on options such as methane abatement and carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies.
“These efforts are part of Saudi Arabia’s leading role within the region to contribute to the reduction of climate change effects as part of several initiatives that were launched with that regard, through pursuing additional methodologies such as creating a motivational environment for companies and institutes to reduce their emissions,” Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman said.
