Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), and the Arab world's biggest bourse Tadawul plan to set up the Riyadh Voluntary Exchange Platform for offsets and carbon credits within the Middle East and North Africa region.
The platform will become the primary destination for companies and institutions that target reducing their emissions, or contributing towards reductions, through the trading of verified, approved and high quality carbon equivalent credits certificates, according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency.
“These efforts are part of Saudi Arabia’s leading role within the region to contribute to the reduction of climate change effects as part of several initiatives that were launched with that regard, through pursuing additional methodologies such as creating a motivational environment for companies and institutes to reduce their emissions," Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who heads the PIF and is also chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, said. "We are well-positioned to incubate and host this exchange platform.”
Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest crude exporter, has set ambitious targets to fight climate change and cut carbon emissions as part of its Vision 2030 plan to overhaul its economy and reduce its reliance on oil. The Crown Prince said in April that the kingdom aims to reduce emissions by generating 50 per cent of the country's energy from renewable sources by 2030.
The Arab world’s largest economy will also be hosting the inaugural Saudi Green Initiative and The Middle East Green Initiative in Riyadh from October 23 to 25.
The Riyadh Voluntary Exchange Platform will support the reduction of climate change effects and contribute to the Paris Agreement goals, the SPA said.
In April, Saudi Arabia joined the US, Canada, Norway and Qatar in forming a new platform for oil and gas producers to discuss how they can support the implementation of the Paris Agreement, according to the SPA.
"We have a strong financial background that we will deploy to create a suitable environment for the voluntary exchange platform and we will capitalise on our partnerships and the strength of our investment portfolio, in addition to exploiting the efforts led by the Sovereign Wealth Funds Group that aim to enhance the effect of its investments on the environment," Yasir Othman Al-Rumayyan, governor of the PIF, said.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
By Fiona Sampson
Profile
Neil Thomson – THE BIO
Family: I am happily married to my wife Liz and we have two children together.
Favourite music: Rock music. I started at a young age due to my father’s influence. He played in an Indian rock band The Flintstones who were once asked by Apple Records to fly over to England to perform there.
Favourite book: I constantly find myself reading The Bible.
Favourite film: The Greatest Showman.
Favourite holiday destination: I love visiting Melbourne as I have family there and it’s a wonderful place. New York at Christmas is also magical.
Favourite food: I went to boarding school so I like any cuisine really.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
One in four Americans don't plan to retire
Nearly a quarter of Americans say they never plan to retire, according to a poll that suggests a disconnection between individuals' retirement plans and the realities of ageing in the workforce.
Experts say illness, injury, layoffs and caregiving responsibilities often force older workers to leave their jobs sooner than they'd like.
According to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research, 23 per cent of workers, including nearly two in 10 of those over 50, don't expect to stop working. Roughly another quarter of Americans say they will continue working beyond their 65th birthday.
According to government data, about one in five people 65 and older was working or actively looking for a job in June. The study surveyed 1,423 adults in February this year.
For many, money has a lot to do with the decision to keep working.
"The average retirement age that we see in the data has gone up a little bit, but it hasn't gone up that much," says Anqi Chen, assistant director of savings research at the Centre for Retirement Research at Boston College. "So people have to live in retirement much longer, and they may not have enough assets to support themselves in retirement."
When asked how financially comfortable they feel about retirement, 14 per cent of Americans under the age of 50 and 29 per cent over 50 say they feel extremely or very prepared, according to the poll. About another four in 10 older adults say they do feel somewhat prepared, while just about one-third feel unprepared.
"One of the things about thinking about never retiring is that you didn't save a whole lot of money," says Ronni Bennett, 78, who was pushed out of her job as a New York City-based website editor at 63.
She searched for work in the immediate aftermath of her layoff, a process she describes as akin to "banging my head against a wall." Finding Manhattan too expensive without a steady stream of income, she eventually moved to Portland, Maine. A few years later, she moved again, to Lake Oswego, Oregon. "Sometimes I fantasise that if I win the lottery, I'd go back to New York," says Ms Bennett.
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