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Abu Dhabi to implement a carbon pricing scheme: Businesses operating in Abu Dhabi that emit large amounts of carbon will be required to monitor, report, and have their scope 1 and 2 emissions verified by third parties annually, with initial reports required as of 2026, according to a statement. This is after the Abu Dhabi Environment Agency (EAD) launched an international standard carbon measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) program to standardize greenhouse gas emissions reporting within Abu Dhabi’s industrial and energy sectors in the emirate.
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The reporting program is the first step ahead of the establishment of a domestic carbon pricing scheme that aims to facilitate decarbonization in emission-intensive sectors. The UAE cabinet issued legislation earlier this year — set to come into force tomorrow — that requires firms with emissions equivalent to or more than 500k tons a year to track and report their emissions in a bid to begin regulating carbon credits, with plans to set up a National Register For Carbon Credits as the main regulator. Other emirates have yet to come out with their own monitoring systems.
The details: The program will produce data that adheres to international climate requirements, including those set by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement’s Enhanced Transparency Framework. Abu Dhabi’s rules make the UAE the first Middle Eastern country to require companies to measure their emissions, but other emirates have not yet announced their own MRV systems.
We knew this was coming: The emirate issued a decree requiring businesses licensed by the EAD to report their environmental data, including energy consumption and emissions, annually, in April, without clarifying at the time when this would take effect. Businesses will have to report on their energy, water use, and emissions in Abu Dhabi during 1Q of each year. They will also need to include information on operations, equipment, and emission control, as well as report accidents.
PLUS- Businesses operating in Abu Dhabi were also required to obtain an environmental license from the EAD and adhere to new limits for noise and air pollution in a separate decree issued in May.
The story got ink in Bloomberg.
IN OTHER ABU DHABI NEWS-
Abu Dhabi adds retail licensing for cooling providers: Abu Dhabi’s Department of Energy has rolled out a new license for retail district cooling providers, according to an announcement on Thursday. The license will be provided for market players wishing to enter the cooling market as retailers purchasing cooling services from wholesale suppliers and reselling them to end users. Providers must apply for this license by 31 January 2025 through the Emirates’ department’s unified platform.
