RVCMC’s credit auction draws big interest from KSA: A carbon credit auction hosted by Saudi Arabia’s Regional Voluntary Carbon Market Company (RVCMC) in Nairobi drew big demand from over a dozen firms — a majority of which were Saudi Arabian firms — who bid on an available 2 mn tons of carbon credits, Reuters reports. The company — established by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the Saudi Tadawul Group — sold some 1.4 mn tons of carbon credits during its first auction, which was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, last October.

Where are the proceeds going? Financing generated by the sale of RVCMC’s carbon credits will be channeled toward funding carbon capture projects and clean energy projects that avoid greenhouse gas emissions, the newswire writes, citing a statement by RVCMC. 70% of the credits on sale were produced via Africa-based projects especially from Egypt, Mauritania, South Africa, Uganda, and Kenya, company CEO Riham ElGizy told the National earlier this week. The PIF-backed company also plans to launch a carbon trading exchange early next year, as well as establish a fund to invest in climate projects, according to ElGizy.

The voluntary carbon market is picking up steam: The voluntary carbon market quadrupled to some USD 2 bn in 2021, and could be worth in excess of USD 50 bn in 2023, according to McKinsey. The UAE and Egypt are also working to establish carbon exchanges. The UAE Independent Climate Change Accelerators (UICCA) launched the UAE Carbon Alliance earlier this month in partnership with Singapore-based carbon trading exchange AirCarbon Exchange (ACX) in a bid to establish a framework for carbon markets. The alliance was launched a year after the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) said it was working with ACX on launching the world’s first fully regulated carbon trading exchange. In April, Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) formed a committee to supervise and regulate the country’s soon-to-be launched voluntary carbon market.