Aramco and 15 other Saudi and international companies this week bought more than 2.2 million tons of carbon credits in the largest-ever voluntary carbon credit auction, the organizers of the auction said. The Regional Voluntary Carbon Market Company (RVCMC), the organizer of the auction held in Kenya, was launched at the end of last year by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Saudi Tadawul Group Holding Company. In the auction this week, Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil firm, purchased the largest number of credits, along with Saudi Electricity Company and ENOWA, a subsidiary of NEOM, the carbon market company said. Three-quarters of the carbon credits originated from countries across the Middle East, North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa, including Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, Morocco, Egypt, and South Africa. Environmentalists, however, slam carbon credits as greenwashing.

Source: The North Africa Journal June 15, 2023 13:14 UTC