The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) that has recently announced launching Africa’s first regulated voluntary carbon market, and Qatar’s Global Carbon Council (GCC), an internationally recognised provider of high-integrity carbon credits, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote regional climate actions and strengthen carbon markets regionally and globally.
As an outcome of this agreement, signed by GCC’s founding chairman, Dr Yousef Alhorr, and EGX's executive chairman, Rami El-Dokany , GCC-issued carbon credits (CCs) will be listed on EGX platform, thus expanding the marketplace's offerings to buyers seeking a diversified portfolio of CCs. Meanwhile, EGX will leverage GCC’s international profile to advance the growth of the carbon market in Africa and subsequently raise awareness among regional stakeholders, including governments, businesses, and investors, about the importance of use of market instruments to catalyse climate actions.
Dr Alhorr, said, “Collaboration between carbon offsetting platforms and exchanges is vital to building a well-functioning marketplace to promote climate action and deliver highly integral mitigation outcomes. By working in unison, these two mechanisms promote transparency, trust, and growth for carbon markets. Ultimately, by doing so, they contribute to a more sustainable, low-carbon future. We are positive that GCC’s collaboration with EGX will create a lasting impact that will undoubtedly encourage decarbonisation of critical sectors by incentivising businesses pursuing carbon reduction projects.”
El-Dokany, noted: “We believe that a real impact, will be achieved by a well-organised workflow between different stakeholders. EGX's collaboration with GCC will help in achieving global climate goals besides creating new business opportunities for the African continent through a transparent and fair ecosystem, this collaboration will increase the liquidity in the market & give investors access to high quality carbon credits which they can use to offset their residual emissions and take their steps towards achieving net-zero goals."
The MoU between GCC and EGX marks a significant step towards strengthening the carbon market and improving the liquidity and accessibility of carbon credits through increased transparency and reliability. As part of the agreement, the two entities will also collaborate on development initiatives aimed at improving the efficacy of carbon offsetting mechanisms contributing to the global efforts to tackle climate change.