Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s largest economy, is following a phased approach in setting up a carbon market, to “ensure readiness” and avoid the pitfalls experienced by the EU and other regions, its energy minister said on Tuesday.
The roadmap for an emissions compliance system will include a pilot phase for the next “two to three years” to make sure that the regulations suit the kingdom’s economy, Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman said at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh.
“We learnt from everybody's problems and mistakes. I will give it to the EU that they had the start, but they had a very tough start,” Prince Abdulaziz said.
“So, learning from what everyone else went through, we wanted to take our time to ensure that regulations and structures should first be commensurate with our own needs and pertinent to our own economy.”
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, is investing in voluntary carbon markets as part of its strategy to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060 and diversify its economy.
Last year, the kingdom announced the launch of a greenhouse gas-crediting and offsetting scheme.
In 2022, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and Saudi Tadawul Group established the Regional Voluntary Carbon Market Company, which conducts carbon credit auctions and advises companies on their decarbonisation strategy.
The RVCMC will launch a voluntary exchange platform during the Cop29 climate conference in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, the energy minister said.
Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in solar and wind power projects, aiming to diversify its energy mix and reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.
“We're transitioning with a purpose … and we're trying to export all forms of energy. We're trying to use our carbon economy as an approach to give us guidance on where we are going to go,” Prince Abdulaziz said.
Green hydrogen push
The minister said that Saudi Aramco and Sabic, the kingdom’s petrochemicals company, are actively marketing their upcoming green hydrogen production, and they still have some output available for potential buyers.
“They're touring everywhere on planet Earth marketing [green] hydrogen [and there is] still some capacity to sell,” Prince Abdulaziz said.
“We also want to make sure that hydrogen can be used and [made] available in Saudi Arabia for those who want to come and invest here in hard-to-abate sectors.”
Saudi Arabia aims to produce 2.9 million tonnes of green hydrogen annually by 2030 and increase that amount to 4 million tonnes per year by 2035.
An $8.4 billion green hydrogen plant in Neom is at the heart of the kingdom’s production and export plans for the low-carbon fuel.
The plant, set to begin operations in 2026, will initially produce 600 tonnes of green hydrogen daily, reducing annual carbon dioxide emissions by 5 million tonnes. This green hydrogen will be available for export to global markets.
Oil and gas investments
The Saudi minister defended the kingdom’s continued investments in the oil and gas sector, saying that it is necessary to offset natural production declines from existing fields.
“There is something called natural declines, and if you don't attend to that, you lose over time,” Prince Abdulaziz said.
He said that Saudi Arabia is still committed to maintaining its crude capacity of 12.3 million barrels per day.
Earlier this year, Aramco scrapped its goal of achieving a production rate of 13 million bpd by 2027, which analysts attributed to rising costs and the impact of the ongoing energy transition on crude demand.
However, Aramco will continue investing in oil-to-chemicals projects domestically and abroad, Prince Abdulaziz said.
“That’s why you see Aramco investing a lot in China, and will be investing a lot everywhere else … because we would like to continue monetising our hydrocarbons,” he added.
In a separate session on Tuesday, Aramco chief Amin Nasser said that the oil market is currently “balanced” despite high interest rates and an economic slowdown in China.
Mr Nasser expects a recent stimulus package from China's central bank to boost economic activity and anticipates “significant” oil demand growth from the country’s petrochemicals sector.
Global oil demand is projected to grow by 1.5 million barrels per day in 2025, Mr Nasser said.
This is lower than Opec’s 2025 estimate of a growth of 1.64 million bpd growth but higher than the International Energy Agency’s prediction of a consumption increase of 1 million bpd.
Data centre edge
Officials at the event highlighted Saudi Arabia's potential as a prime location for energy-efficient and sustainable data centres.
The US and some European countries are struggling to establish “green” data centres and “they have to come to Saudi Arabia to [build] green data centres”, Mohammad Abunayyan, Acwa Power's chairman said during a panel session.
“We have seawater for cooling, and if you see the cooling system for data centres, Saudi Arabia is going to be the [most] competitive and [also in terms of] energy use,” he added.
Saudi Arabia offers some of the lowest energy costs compared to other countries, making it an attractive destination for data centre development, Mr Nasser said.
Gas-powered electricity in the kingdom costs 4.8 cents per kilowatt hour and power generated from renewable energy is priced 2 cents per kilowatt hour, he added.
“[With the] combination of the two, you are going to have the lowest-cost energy.”
The IEA has predicted that the total electricity consumption of data centres could exceed 1,000 terawatt-hours by 2026, nearly matching the electricity usage of Japan.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Company%C2%A0profile
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
More coverage from the Future Forum
MATCH INFO
Quarter-finals
Saturday (all times UAE)
England v Australia, 11.15am
New Zealand v Ireland, 2.15pm
Sunday
Wales v France, 11.15am
Japan v South Africa, 2.15pm
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2-litre%204-cylinder%20petrol%20(V%20Class)%3B%20electric%20motor%20with%2060kW%20or%2090kW%20powerpack%20(EQV)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20233hp%20(V%20Class%2C%20best%20option)%3B%20204hp%20(EQV%2C%20best%20option)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20350Nm%20(V%20Class%2C%20best%20option)%3B%20TBA%20(EQV)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMid-2024%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETBA%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Company profile
Company: Eighty6
Date started: October 2021
Founders: Abdul Kader Saadi and Anwar Nusseibeh
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Hospitality
Size: 25 employees
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investment: $1 million
Investors: Seed funding, angel investors
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UAE tour of the Netherlands
UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures: Monday, first 50-over match; Wednesday, second 50-over match; Thursday, third 50-over match
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Brief scores:
Toss: Australia, chose to bat
Australia: 272-9 (50 ov)
Khawaja 100, Handscomb 52; Bhuvneshwar 3-48
India: 237 (50 ov)
Rohit 56, Bhuvneshwar 46; Zampa 3-46
Player of the Match: Usman Khawaja (Australia)
Player of the Series: Usman Khawaja (Australia)
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20SAMSUNG%20GALAXY%20Z%20FLIP5
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Fixtures and results:
Wed, Aug 29:
- Malaysia bt Hong Kong by 3 wickets
- Oman bt Nepal by 7 wickets
- UAE bt Singapore by 215 runs
Thu, Aug 30:
- UAE bt Nepal by 78 runs
- Hong Kong bt Singapore by 5 wickets
- Oman bt Malaysia by 2 wickets
Sat, Sep 1: UAE v Hong Kong; Oman v Singapore; Malaysia v Nepal
Sun, Sep 2: Hong Kong v Oman; Malaysia v UAE; Nepal v Singapore
Tue, Sep 4: Malaysia v Singapore; UAE v Oman; Nepal v Hong Kong
Thu, Sep 6: Final
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
