With their existing industrial and carbon capture facilities, natural CO2 sinks that are accessible, and future plans, the GCC countries might become a global centre for CCS, says a report

Participating in the largest-ever auction of carbon credits, Engie traded a total of 483,100 carbon credits to Regional Voluntary Carbon Market Company. This was the largest single contribution to the 1.4 million carbon credits that were sold in the largest-ever auction of its kind.

Riham ElGizy, Director of VCM Initiative, says: "Dedicated to supporting the investment and innovation needed to deliver necessary climate action, and participate in Saudi Arabia’s efforts to achieve net-zero by 2060, the auction represented the first step towards becoming a leading player in the global voluntary carbon market ecosystem."

"As a global reference in low-carbon energy and services, with a purpose to provide clients with a wide range of solutions to accelerate the energy transition, we are delighted to have participated in the largest-ever auction of carbon credits organised by the Regional Voluntary Carbon Market Company," says Varun Gujral, CEO at Engie GEMS in Asia-Pacific (APAC),

A mechanism designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, carbon credits are produced by developers who create carbon-reducing projects. Each carbon credit is Corsia-compliant and Verra-registered, and a single credit represents one ton of carbon dioxide that can make up for industrial production, delivery vehicles, or travel emissions.

The 483,100 credits traded by Engie represent a reduction of 483,100 tons of carbon from the atmosphere.

Turki Al Shehri, Engie’s CEO for Saudi Arabia, said: "We are proud to contribute to the Voluntary Carbon Market initiative as it plays a pivotal role in addressing the impact of climate change."

The Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) is a multi-stakeholder platform to drive credible, net-zero aligned participation in voluntary carbon markets.

The mission of the independent initiative is to enable high integrity voluntary carbon markets that deliver real and additional benefits to the atmosphere, help protect nature, and accelerate the transition to ambitious, economy-wide climate policies and regulation.

Through consultation with stakeholders from civil society, the private sector, indigenous peoples, local communities, and governments, VCMI intends to develop and communicate guidance on how carbon credits can be voluntarily used and claimed by businesses and others as part of credible, net-zero decarbonisation strategies. It also engages countries to support development of strategies to access VCMs to drive ambitious climate mitigation.

VCMI was established in 2021 to bring integrity to the demand side of voluntary carbon markets. After a year of deliberation, consultation and analysis, the VCMI provisional Claims Code of Practice (Claims Code) was published on June 7, 2022. This was put out for public consultation and road testing and VCMI received responses from over 130 organisations and individuals to the public consultation and over 70 companies participated in the road test.