ADGM's Participation In COP27 Is Part Of Its Role In Supporting And Promoting Sustainability: Head Of Sustainable Finance

Mercedes Vela Monserrate, Head of Sustainable Finance at Abu Dhabi Global Market, has said that ADGM's participation in COP27 is part of this International Financial Centre leading role in supporting and promoting sustainability, and further underpinning its commitment to sustainable finance.

In an exclusive interview with the Emirates News Agency (WAM), Monserrate said, “This is a key focus area for ADGM, as a financial centre that supports capital formation, raising and deployment as well as the creation and issuance of products to achieve positive economic, social and environmental objectives.”

Speaking about climate action efforts and the achievement of climate neutrality goals in the UAE, Monserrate said, “The UAE’s Net Zero Strategic Initiative will resonate widely by encouraging neighbouring countries to follow the same path, and by drawing attention to the UAE’s innovative approach to tackling climate challenges.

“As a hydrocarbon producing country, the UAE has an important role to play in the energy transition. Leaders in the MENA region should also work together to create ambitious regional targets. The UAE is a proven convener on the issue of climate and will build on this tradition to continue to push for bold climate action, including through COP28.”

Highlighting ADGM's efforts to develop a sustainable global finance hub from Abu Dhabi, she stated, “We are closely aligned to UAE initiatives, supporting Abu Dhabi, the UAE and global stakeholders in achieving Sustainable Development Goals and climate change objectives of the Paris Agreement.

“With an internationally recognised regulatory regime, direct application of common law and proximity to some of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, institutional investors and private wealth, ADGM is ideally placed to develop a sustainable finance ecosystem catering to the needs of local and international investors ADGM is at the forefront of the sustainable finance industry and remains committed to collaborating with its partners to promote the integration of ESG considerations and sustainable finance into all that it does.”

She noted that ADGM’s Sustainable Finance Agenda includes a roadmap for the integration of sustainability into ADGM’s regulatory framework, building on existing UAE initiatives and global best practices.

About the UAE's preparations to host COP28 next year, Monserrate said, “The UAE is built on a track record of practical climate action that is delivering social and economic benefit. We intend to use this experience for the benefit of COP28. Having invested over $17 billion in clean energy projects in six continents around the world, and as home to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the UAE approach is built on bringing practical climate solutions to the international community.

“The UAE is also the home to three of the largest and lowest cost solar plants in the world, the first country in the region to deploy industrial scale carbon capture technology, the first to deploy zero emission nuclear energy and a pioneer in new zero carbon energies such as hydrogen. The UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative and COP29 are the natural next step in this growth trajectory that directly aligns with the UAE’s development vision for the next 50 years to create new knowledge, new industries, new skills and new jobs.”

To build a local carbon-free economy, she said that ADGM in 2022 teamed up with AirCarbon Exchange, a central marketplace for carbon credits, to create the world’s first fully-regulated voluntary carbon market, and become the first jurisdiction in the world to regulate carbon credits and offsets as emission instruments.