Saudi Arabia is progressing toward the launch of its carbon market, with a targeted start date of late 2026 or 2027. This announcement came at the eighth Future Investment Initiative (FII) summit, where government officials and business leaders outlined key steps in the kingdom’s roadmap to reduce carbon emissions.
Visual of local reforestation efforts in Saudi Arabia's Thadiq National Park. AI generated image.
Central to this effort, the Regional Voluntary Carbon Market Company (RVCMC) and the Clean Development Mechanism Designated National Authority (CDMDNA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a carbon market framework. This collaboration marks a milestone in Saudi Arabia’s goal of creating a sustainable economy while continuing to address its reliance on oil and gas.
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RVCMC was founded in 2022, through a partnership between Saudi Arabia’s Sovereign Wealth Fund and the Tadawul Group, to lay the groundwork for carbon market infrastructure. Notably, RVCMC has already held auctions for carbon credits, with one in 2022 seeing the sale of 1.4 million tonnes of CO₂ credits, led by Saudi Aramco and involving 16 participating companies.
As part of the 2024 FII summit, Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman highlighted that the kingdom is taking a gradual approach. The plan includes a pilot phase over the next two to three years, with an official market launch in alignment with COP29 in November 2024, when a voluntary exchange platform is expected to be introduced.
Further supporting these initiatives, Saudi Arabia’s 2023 Greenhouse Gas Crediting and Offsetting Mechanism (GCOM) allows companies to offset emissions by purchasing credits from projects reducing greenhouse gases. Additionally, RVCMC has selected Xpansiv as its technology provider to ensure robust infrastructure for the carbon market.
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