The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MoCCAE), the Industrial Innovation Group LLC and Venom Foundation to jointly establish a national system for carbon credits using blockchain technology

The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MoCCAE), the Industrial Innovation Group LLC and Venom Foundation signed the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in creating the first-of-its-kind blockchain-based national system for carbon credits.

The joint initiative aims to achieve the following strategic objectives:

• reducing and cutting greenhouse gas emissions to achieve climate neutrality,
• developing agribusiness,
• promoting responsible investment in agriculture and sustainable food systems,
• enhancing the economic value of the Environmental Health Programme,
• preserving biodiversity to improve the use of ecosystem services for sustainable development.

The three parties will jointly develop basic approaches and specific technological solutions for the project. They aim to create a global platform for registering and issuing carbon credits in the UAE. The system will work within the government-set regulatory frameworks. Therefore, there will be strict rules regarding identifying and selecting projects related to reducing or removing carbon emissions.

Blockchain technology was chosen to ensure the safe and efficient production of carbon credit registration system documents. The projects reducing carbon emissions and removing carbon will be thoroughly evaluated to ensure process transparency and environmental integration.

The ultimate purpose of this collaboration is to contribute to achieving the UAE’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. In late 2022, the country updated the NDC goals, increasing the national 2030 climate target of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 23.5% to 31% of a business-as-usual scenario. In July 2023, the same target was already set at 40%.

“As the UAE prepares to host COP28 in November, the country is striving to double its efforts and showcase its inspiring experience to the world in addressing climate change by reducing carbon emissions across different sectors,” says Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment.

She added that “This requires working according to a scientific approach based on modern technology and the highest levels of transparency to monitor carbon credits to work according to realistic data, achieve tangible results on the ground, and achieve climate neutrality by 2050.”

Earlier this year, the banking group including BBVA, BNP Paribas, CIBC, Itaú Unibanco, National Australia Bank, NatWest, Standard Chartered, SMBC, and UBS has directed investments of $45 million to the development of Carbonplace, a global network of transactions on carbon credits based on DLT.