Dubai: Abu Dhabi will host the newly launched Global Climate Finance Centre (GCFC) at the Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM) in partnership with nine founding members, including the World Bank, HSBC, and asset managers BlackRock and Ninety One.
The centre, described as an independent think tank and research hub, will look at barriers to investment in low-carbon projects and develop the financial frameworks to overcome them. GCFC was launched on the first day of the climate conference by COP28 President Dr Sultan Al Jaber. It will be headquartered in ADGM.
Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economy Development (ADDED), announced the list of GCFC partners during the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week COP28 edition on Monday. ADDED also unveiled a new circular economy framework to drive sustainable industrial growth.
The framework also aims to achieve a 50 per cent reduction in industrial process waste. “It will also cover key sectors to ensure 100 per cent by 2030,” said Al Zaabi.
GCFC role in climate finance
He said: “GCFC will unlock new financial flows into the region as Abu Dhabi becomes a key marketplace for climate finance. It will become a world leader in research policy and innovation for climate finance.”
Al Zaabi also confirmed that as a private sector think tank, GCFC would provide research, stakeholder engagement, and capacity building to develop global financial frameworks that catalyse low-carbon AND high-growth investments.
Earlier this year, ADGM introduced the region’s first sustainable finance regulatory framework, accelerating the growth of a climate finance ecosystem.
“Carbon offsets now come under ADGM’s regulatory framework, bringing the world’s first voluntary carbon exchange AirCarbon to Abu Dhabi, and 145 global institutions are now signed up to the Abu Dhabi Sustainable Finance Declaration, said Al Zaabi.
However, this must go hand-in-hand with real financing, said ADDED’s Chief. “More than half of the transition finance required needs to come to the private sector. That is why we welcome the launch of Alterra, the $30 billion fund launched by UAE,” he added. Alterra, which also comes under the ambit of ADGM, seeks to bridge the climate financing gap by raising and investing a corpus of up to $250 billion of institutional and private capital by 2030.
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New circular economy policy
ADDED’s circular economy framework, according to Al Zaabi, is set to accelerate Abu Dhabi’s transition towards a sustainable economy. He added that the policy would empower the industrial sector towards responsible production and consumption across waste management, parts supply, and manufacturing.
The framework aims to achieve a 50 per cent reduction in industrial process waste, at least 40,000 tons annually, and will cover key sectors to ensure 100 per cent compliance by 2030, with 100 per cent compliance within the plastic manufacturing sector by 2025, he explained.
The policy also includes a 100 per cent scrap recovery and reuse in the metal and plastic industries, which will positively impact subsectors such as electronics, electricals, assembling products, machinery, fabricated metal products, and more.
The Industrial Circular Economy Policy Framework is supervised by the Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) — ADDED’s arm to develop and regulate the industrial sector. It is expected to be implemented in Q2-2024.
Schemes for manufacturing sector
ADDED offers incentive schemes for industrial entities to encourage them to adopt the policies. Specialised monitoring, reporting, and verification schemes, including audits, inspections, and enforcement, will be implemented to ensure all industries adopt circular economy practices.
