In what is truly a milestone for the UAE’s ambitious Net Zero by 2050 aspiration, BeZero Carbon, a global carbon ratings agency, announced a strategic partnership with Emirates NBD, one of the major banks in the MENAT region. The strategic partnership will set the gold standard for robust due diligence in carbon and further develop the UAE’s carbon market, while setting a new benchmark for voluntary carbon trading in the region.
Implementation of Carbon Rating System in MENAT Region
Through the introduction of a carbon rating system applied in the first of its kind in the MENAT region by integrating into the voluntary carbon market trading, Emirates NBD is taking a giant initiative and makes a meaningful step toward containing climate change. The bank will utilize BeZero Carbon’s newly 8-point rating scale of the carbon projects’ ability to avoid or remove one tonne of CO2 equivalent (CO2e), from ‘AAA’ to ‘D’. This will empower market participants with transparency and confidence, and enables them to make decisions under the best conditions regarding their investments in carbon credits.
Rating System of BeZero Carbon
This partnership is hated to the BeZero Carbon rating system, residing at the center of it. With more than 440 ratings of carbon credit projects available on the BeZero Carbon Markets online platform, the tool will enable Emirates NBD and its client base to scrutinize exactly the quality of their carbon credit investments. Based on a thorough review of a carbon project in providing potential for climate goals, it provides a dependable measure of its effectiveness.
It will also underpin UAE’s broader ambitions to foster a solid carbon market. The ratings provided by BeZero Carbon will, therefore, play a pivotal role in the credibility and growth of this market—especially as the Dubai Financial Market launches its pilot program for carbon credit trading.
Underpinning the UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 Goal
In fact, the country sets a goal to achieve net zero carbon emission by 2050, for which high-quality carbon credits are required to balance off emissions that cannot be eliminated. The BeZero Carbon-Emirates NBD partnership will ensure that the carbon credits traded within the UAE are associated with high standards and rigorous assessments, thereby significantly contributing to the country’s environmental goals.
With the UAE’s development of the carbon market, integrating BeZero’s rating system to provide both transparency and reliability helps in attracting investors for trading carbon and motivates new investors into this market. This is of special importance, as the world has been recognizing the UAE’s leadership in sustainable development and climate action.
The partnership with BeZero Carbon is representative of the ambitions of the bank: to lead the regional landscape of carbon trading and, in so doing, to have Emirates NBD at the forefront of the ESG movement. This, in turn, will allow its clients to tool themselves up with means of navigating the complexity of carbon credits.
Vijay Bains, Chief Sustainability Officer and Group Head of ESG at Emirates NBD, said that by referring to the influential partnership in improving the quality and transparency in the assessment of carbon credits. Supporting system not only towards the goals of the bank but is also parallel to UAE’s national agenda in combating climate change.
Opportunities in the Future and the Impact
Together, BeZero Carbon and Emirates NBD shall endeavor to play a critical role in the recalibration of carbon markets in the Emirates of the United Arab Emirates. This learning will be hoped to influence broader attempts at carving sustainable and transparent markets for carbon in the region and set the best practices for financial institutions in the area.
The expected increase in demand for high-quality carbon credits driven by global climate commitments makes the BeZero Carbon and Emirates NBD partnership rather timeliest. It provides the needed infrastructure to take real action on the climate front, supplementing the position of UAE among countries in the lead in terms of sustainability and innovation.
Conclusion
This ground-breaking partnership between BeZero Carbon and Emirates NBD reinforces that the UAE’s carbon market, furthering the net-zero by 2050 aspirations across the region, is labeled as the world’s largest carbon rating claim. Senior officials said this would introduce a robust carbon rating system and further enhance due diligence practices, thereby setting best practices for voluntary carbon trading in the MENAT region. With the UAE pressing forward with ambitious climate action, the partnership will be critical to ensure that these high-level targets are met with rigor and transparency.
Source: BeZero Carbon