The UAE Carbon Alliance has pledged to purchase $450 million in African carbon credits by 2030, as it seeks to connect the high-integrity supply of African carbon credits to high demand from the Middle East.
A non-binding letter of intent with the Africa Carbon Markets Initiative’s Advance Market Signal was signed by Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan, president and chief executive of the UAE Independent Climate Change Accelerators (UICCA), the climate change organisation said on Monday.
The UAE Carbon Alliance was launched by the UICCA in June to help support the transition of companies to a green economy, as set out in the UAE Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative.
A carbon market is a trading system in which carbon credits are bought and sold.
“Our collaboration with the Africa Carbon Markets Initiative provides carbon market buyers in the UAE and wider region with access to high-quality carbon credits in Africa … Through this pledge, we hope to foster more integrated and efficient carbon market mechanisms between our two regions,” Sheikha Shamma said.
The move helps to unlock Africa’s carbon credit generation potential as well as support sustainable investment opportunities and long-term climate impact, she said, adding that carbon markets are a pivotal part of the UAE's decarbonisation journey.
Africa will play a “fundamental role” in implementing the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate, officials said ahead of the Cop28 summit in the UAE in November.
The world must ensure that climate finance is more “available, affordable, and accessible” to all developing countries, including those in Africa, Cop28 President-designate Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Kenya's President William Ruto and African Union Commission chairman Moussa Mahamat said separately in a joint statement released at the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi on Monday.
International investment must be “massively scaled up” to enable commitments to be turned into action across the continent, the statement said.
At the summit, Irena, in collaboration with Kenya, the UAE, Denmark and Germany, announced a partnership pledging to boost renewable energy in Africa.
The Africa Carbon Markets Initiative (ACMI) is a collaborative effort incubated by Sustainable Energy for All, the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet and The Rockefeller Foundation, and rolled out in partnership with the UN Economic Commission for Africa and the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions.
Launched during Cop27 in Egypt, the initiative aims to create, amplify and sustain the next generation of high integrity carbon credits in Africa with the aim of reducing emissions and bringing transparency to voluntary carbon markets in the region.
The critical signal from the UICCA amplifies the ACMI mission “to build integrity via transparency and accountability for high-integrity carbon credits in Africa”, said Paul Muthaura, chief executive of ACMI.
“UICCA's pledge is a testament to the opportunity created through international co-operation in addressing climate change. Together, we aim to create a sustainable, transparent and equitable carbon market ecosystem in Africa that will drive significant positive impact for our continent and the world,” he said.
To date, the current signatories under ACMI’s Advance Market Signal include Standard Chartered, Vertree, ETG and Nando’s, with an estimated $200 million collected for purchase of African carbon credits by 2030, the UICCA said.
The founding members of the UAE Carbon Alliance include AirCarbon Exchange, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Mubadala Investment Company, Taqa and Masdar, in addition to UICCA as its secretariat.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Match info
Manchester City 3 (Jesus 22', 50', Sterling 69')
Everton 1 (Calvert-Lewin 65')
The biog
Favourite book: Men are from Mars Women are from Venus
Favourite travel destination: Ooty, a hill station in South India
Hobbies: Cooking. Biryani, pepper crab are her signature dishes
Favourite place in UAE: Marjan Island
Mina Cup winners
Under 12 – Minerva Academy
Under 14 – Unam Pumas
Under 16 – Fursan Hispania
Under 18 – Madenat
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
How England have scored their set-piece goals in Russia
Three Penalties
v Panama, Group Stage (Harry Kane)
v Panama, Group Stage (Kane)
v Colombia, Last 16 (Kane)
Four Corners
v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via John Stones header, from Ashley Young corner)
v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via Harry Maguire header, from Kieran Trippier corner)
v Panama, Group Stage (Stones, header, from Trippier corner)
v Sweden, Quarter-Final (Maguire, header, from Young corner)
One Free-Kick
v Panama, Group Stage (Stones, via Jordan Henderson, Kane header, and Raheem Sterling, from Tripper free-kick)
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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