The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment has agreed to collaborate with the Industrial Innovation Group and Venom Foundation to create the national system for carbon Credits using blockchain.

The collaboration aims to reduce emissions and enhance sustainable agriculture, environmental health, and biodiversity in the UAE. This will be achieved by providing the highest levels of transparency, reliability, efficiency, and security in managing the issuance, transfer, calculation, and accurate tracking of carbon credits, as well as facilitating the digitisation process.

Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment (MoCCAE), witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry, the Industrial Innovation Group and Venom Foundation on cooperation to establish the world's first-of-its-kind national system for carbon credits.

The MoU was signed by Mohammed Said Al Nuaimi, Acting Undersecretary of MoCCAE, Taryam Matar Taryam, CEO of Industrial Innovation Group, and Peter Knez, Chair of the Foundation Council at Venom Foundation, at the Ministry's office in Dubai.

The MOU aims to achieve four strategic objectives related to reducing and cutting greenhouse gas emissions to achieve climate neutrality, developing agribusiness, and promoting responsible investment in agriculture and sustainable food systems, enhancing the economic value of the Environmental Health Programme and conserving biodiversity to enhance the use of ecosystem services for sustainable development.

The main areas of cooperation between the three parties signing the MoU are in developing basic approaches and specific technological solutions for the project of a global platform for registering and issuing carbon credits in the UAE, within the regulatory frameworks of government decisions related to the project of the national system for issuing and registering carbon credits, and providing a blockchain-based solution for safe and effective management of the national system for issuing and registering carbon credits, and identifying and selecting projects related to reducing or removing carbon emissions.

The collaboration also aims to develop a legislative and regulatory framework by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment to establish a national system for issuing and registering carbon credits. This includes creating of a licensed platform and leveraging blockchain technology to ensure the safe and efficient production of carbon credit registration system documents.

The cooperation also ensures system integration to meet all requirements for establishing and developing business operations and the comprehensive process of issuing and registering carbon credits.

EVALUATION OF PROJECTS

Furthermore, it includes evaluating projects to reduce carbon emissions and remove carbon to ensure process transparency and environmental integration. This collaboration ultimately aims to contribute to achieving the UAE's nationally determined contributions.

The MoU covers many areas of work, including investment in the agricultural sector; investment in innovative agrarian technologies; investment in the food industry; development of food safety practices; development of the bee-keeping sector and its products; and investment in aquaculture and fish farming.

It also includes the activation and application of plant and animal quarantine regulations and laws and the implementation and application of laws for the prevention of epidemics and infectious animal diseases and agricultural pests; facilitating trade, developing the country's agricultural and animal wealth, and enhancing good agricultural and animal practices and palm sector development, promote energy efficiency, renewable energy and waste-to-energy and sound management of green technology, green cities, green buildings, green transport and other activities of sustainable cities.

It also covers the areas of improving air quality, biodiversity and environmental protection, monitoring changes in natural habitats and their threats, preserving natural reserves, and any innovation that develops sustainable development policy and food security, establishing scientific research and studies, education and training and qualification in the fields of the Ministry's work.

Additionally, the MOU covers green investment, adaptation to climate change, reducing carbon emissions, reducing environmental pollution, preparing and implementing a climate neutrality strategy, enhancing partnership opportunities with the private sector, developing waste treatment methods, improving and developing processes and services, exchanging technical information and laws and experiences and courses and visits, applying the state's obligations towards international agreements (such as the SPS Health and Plant Health Measures Agreement), preparing and activating and applying environmental legislation, policies and strategies, awareness and education, circular economy, green economy, enhancing food security, sustainable development, innovation and technological development in the environmental field, supporting environmental tourism, evaluating employee capabilities and competencies.