One-On-One with Riham ElGizy, CEO, Regional Voluntary Carbon Market Company

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Carbon markets are increasingly dominating conversations about climate change interventions, especially in Africa. In June 2023, RVCMC hosted the world’s largest ever carbon market auction in Nairobi, Kenya, selling a total of over 2.2 million tons of carbon credits. The auction basket contained high quality CORSIA-eligible and Verra-registered carbon credits with three quarters of the credits originating from countries across MENA, which is the region we’ve been targeting for growth.

In June 2023, RVCMC hosted the world’s largest ever carbon market auction in Nairobi, Kenya, selling a total of over 2.2 million tons of carbon credits. The auction basket contained high quality CORSIA-eligible and Verra-registered carbon credits with three quarters of the credits originating from countries across MENA, which is the region we’ve been targeting for growth.
The Voluntary Carbon Market Initiative was initially founded in September 2021, a result of a PIF collaboration with the Saudi Tadawul Group. Its purpose was to be the primary platform for companies and institutions to trade verified, approved and high-quality carbon equivalent credit certificates in the Middle East and North Africa region. The initiative shortly then announced its first partners in the MENA region, which included five leading Saudi Arabian businesses to sign separate non-binding MoU agreements –Aramco, SAUDIA, ACWA Power, Ma’aden, and ENOWA, a subsidiary of NEOM.
In October 2022 the initiative then became RVCMC, Regional Voluntary Carbon Market Company, as it is known today, in which PIF holds an 80% stake and Saudi Tadawul Group Holding Company holds 20%. Since then, the company has gone from strength to strength. In October 2022, they held the largest-ever auction of carbon credits, with over 1.4 million tons of CO2 equivalent sold. In June 2023, they broke their own record, hosting a second auction which sold over 2.2 million tons of carbon credits.
Raphael Obonyo interviewed Riham ElGizy, chief executive officer of Regional Voluntary Carbon Market Company (RVCMC), about the potential of RVCMC.

Tell us a bit about the work of Voluntary Carbon Market Project

RVCMC is creating a credible voluntary carbon market at speed and at scale – one that has integrity at its core, channels finance towards climate action, and seeks to improve livelihoods across the Global South.

RVCMC’s mission is to create a robust and successful market for both the generation and use of voluntary carbon credits in the MENA region and play a meaningful role in assisting the transition to a low carbon global economy.

Recently, Saudi Arabia held a voluntary carbon credit auction in Nairobi, could you share some of the highlights and outcomes

The projects related to the Nairobi auction were a mix of CO_2 avoidance and removal, the majority of which are originated in Africa. This includes the supply of improved clean cookstoves to communities in Kenya and Rwanda, and renewable energy projects in Egypt and South Africa.
16 Saudi regional and international companies took part in the auction, with Aramco, Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) and ENOWA, purchasing the largest number of carbon credits.
The auction was a fantastic demonstration of Saudi Arabia’s commitment to tackling climate change in line with the Saudi Green Initiative and Vision 2030. The achievements of the auction put RVCMC on track to be one of the largest carbon markets in the world by 2030.

What efforts are you engaged in to drive funds needed to deliver climate action and improve livelihoods across the global south?

At RVCMC we believe that voluntary carbon markets will be key to driving both livelihoods and climate action. And these go hand in hand. The world’s 50 poorest nations have contributed 1% of emissions but suffer 99% of climate related deaths. We want to make a difference.

Today MENA accounts for only 2% of demand for carbon credits, mostly delivered by the RVCMC. From our base in Saudi Arabia, RVCMC is well-positioned to shape this market going forward, and is committed to investing in carbon mitigation projects across the Global South including Africa.

What is the current situation with carbon credits and market?

The voluntary carbon trading sector has been growing exponentially, hitting USD 2 billion in 2022. In recent months, we’ve seen carbon markets mature rapidly. Policy frameworks are being drawn up and trading infrastructure is becoming more sophisticated. These developments create a real opportunity for RVCMC, particularly in the lead up to the launch of our exchange. We recognise that for the market to reach its potential and play a meaningful role in decarbonisation, we must be strict on issues of integrity. That is why we only trade in high quality carbon credits that have undergone significant due diligence and meet the highest international standards. But to mature further the market also needs innovation in the form of new ways of channeling climate finance to projects and regions that need it most, such as those in the Global South. Our track record of success, with the two largest ever carbon credit auctions delivered, shows we are serious about our mission and are committed to creating a thriving market for carbon offsets that plays a role in tackling climate change while improving livelihoods across the Global South.

There are concerns that the carbon market risks becoming a failing model especially if there is lack of environmental transparency. What is your view?

We need to tackle climate change and we need to use every tool at our disposal to do so. We know that carbon offsets are an important instrument to help accelerate companies’ net-zero strategies. This is a new space that is growing quickly, and as with any developing industry there will be issues and challenges that need to be addressed in this case questions around varying standards and protocol. Going forward, developing robust verification methods will be crucial to supporting the efficiency of carbon trading as the industry continues evolve.

RVCMC is already committed to exclusively facilitating the trading of high-quality carbon credits. Our recent auction only offered CORSIA eligible and Verra registered credits. The company also works with two separate, independent expert teams to vet projects that contribute credits for sale.

We support efforts to increase transparency and are confident that our track record shows we can continue to build a credible voluntary carbon market at speed and at scale, with integrity at its core.

Saudi Arabia’s PIF is tapping into the carbon credit economy, what do you anticipate?

RVCMC is backed by PIF, but we are not able to answer questions relating to their plans around the carbon credit economy on their behalf. Please direct any questions you have about PIF’s strategy directly to PIF.

How can Africa win or rather benefit from partnership with Saudi Arabia, in terms of Carbon Credits Economy?

RVCMC is committed to improving livelihoods in the Global South, and a really important market for us is Africa as it is the source of significant nature and technology-based carbon project opportunities. We’ve recently demonstrated our commitment to developing a relationship with African stakeholders by signing two MOUs: Eveready East Africa Plc and Carbon Vista Nigeria LP. Going forward we will keep building on these relationships, focusing on securing buyer and seller relationships that will ultimately drive growth across the continent.