UAE Climate Change Law: All Entities Must Report GHG Emissions
Federal Decree-Law No. 11 of 2024 came into force 30 May 2025. Every entity in the UAE, including free zones, must now measure, report and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Full compliance deadline: 30 May 2026.
Federal Decree-Law No. 11 of 2024 — Read the Full Text ↗Full Compliance
30 May
2026
UAE Sustainable Finance Working Group Issues Fourth Statement
The Working Group, coordinated by ADGM, published its fourth formal statement at Abu Dhabi Finance Week 2025, marking a clear shift from framework design to active implementation. New Climate Transition Planning Principles were issued, aligned to ISSB standards and the UAE Net Zero 2050 objective.
Global Sustainable Finance Networks Highlight SME Support as a Key Priority
The Sustainable Banking and Finance Network, facilitated by the IFC and supported by the World Bank Group, highlighted in its 2025 Global Progress Report that supporting small businesses is increasingly recognised as a critical component of sustainable finance frameworks across emerging markets. Financial regulators are integrating SME support, supply-chain finance, and inclusive growth objectives into sustainable finance policies.
Saudi Arabia Targets Net Zero by 2060 Under Vision 2030
Saudi Arabia has committed to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2060. Under Saudi Vision 2030 and the Saudi Green Initiative, the Kingdom aims to cut 278 million tonnes of CO₂ annually by 2030, increase renewables to 50% of the energy mix, and invest hundreds of billions in sustainability.
Saudi & Middle East Green Initiative: World's Largest Reforestation Programme
The Saudi Green Initiative commits to planting 10 billion trees in Saudi Arabia and 50 billion across the Middle East, equivalent to 5% of the global afforestation target, while reducing emissions, expanding renewables and establishing a Circular Carbon Economy framework.
African Development Bank Launches Africa Sustainability Hub
Following the inaugural Africa Sustainability Forum in Abidjan, the African Development Bank launched a continent-wide platform for sustainability data, tools, training and best practice sharing. The AfDB Vice-President stated that disclosure is no longer optional if Africa is to thrive in the 21st century.
Gulf Investment into Africa Surges as Strategic Partnership Deepens
GCC countries, led by the UAE and Saudi Arabia, have rapidly expanded investment across Africa in sectors including renewable energy, infrastructure, logistics, ports and agriculture. Analysts note that Gulf investors are increasingly targeting long-term strategic partnerships aligned with food security, energy transition and economic diversification objectives.
Sustainability Performance Becoming Critical for African Companies Seeking International Capital
Global investors are increasingly integrating sustainability criteria into capital allocation decisions, particularly in emerging markets. Development finance institutions and sovereign investors note that African companies with strong governance, sustainability disclosure and climate risk management are better positioned to attract international capital and long-term investment partnerships.
Sustainable Finance Expands Across Africa's Capital Markets
Sustainable finance instruments, including green bonds, climate funds and transition finance, are expanding across Africa as governments and financial institutions mobilise capital for climate resilience and sustainable development. International institutions highlight growing investor demand for sustainability-aligned projects in energy, infrastructure and agriculture.
UNEP FI Hosts Africa & Middle East Roundtable on Sustainable Finance
The UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative convened its 2025 Regional Roundtable in Marrakech, bringing together central banks, regulators, banks and insurers to advance the sustainable finance agenda across Africa and the Middle East, covering climate, nature, just transition and carbon markets.
UAE National Carbon Credit Register Now Active
Cabinet Resolution No. 67 of 2024 established the UAE's National Register for Carbon Credits, creating a comprehensive framework for accounting, monitoring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions and laying the groundwork for a UAE carbon trading market.
UAE Sustainable Finance Working Group: Climate Transition Planning Principles
ADGM's fourth Working Group statement introduced newly issued Climate Transition Planning Principles, establishing how UAE financial institutions and corporates must prepare, govern and disclose credible climate transition strategies. Sector-specific regulatory requirements may follow.
Saudi CMA Issues Sustainability Disclosure Guidelines for Listed Companies
The Capital Market Authority published sustainability disclosure guidelines for listed Saudi companies, encouraging adoption of international frameworks including GRI and ISSB. The Saudi Exchange (Tadawul) has also issued its own reporting framework, with unified national standards under development.
Kenya, Nigeria & Tanzania Adopt ISSB Mandatory Reporting
Kenya's mandatory disclosure under ISSB/IFRS S1 & S2 commenced January 2026 for Public Interest Entities, with 2028 for large enterprises. Tanzania began mandatory IFRS S1 & S2 reporting from January 2025. Nigeria has committed as an ISSB early adopter through its Financial Reporting Council.
Egypt: Sustainable Finance Binding Regulations & CBAM Active
Egypt's Central Bank issued Sustainable Finance Binding Regulations in 2022, reinforced by mandatory Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism reporting requirements active from 2025. IFC is supporting the Central Bank and major Egyptian banks in scaling climate finance and sustainability reporting infrastructure.
African Development Bank: Sustainability Disclosure Now Critical for Capital Access
The AfDB has made clear that fragmented disclosure standards risk excluding African companies from global capital markets. The Bank is co-developing an African sustainability taxonomy and disclosure standards, noting that 80% of African companies are SMEs, making accessible frameworks a continental priority.
GRI Standards — Global Reporting Initiative
The world's most widely used framework for sustainability reporting, covering environmental, social and governance impacts. Free to access and adopted by thousands of companies across the MEA region and globally.
ISSB / IFRS S1 & S2 — International Sustainability Standards Board
The global baseline for sustainability-related financial disclosures, developed by the IFRS Foundation. S1 covers general sustainability risk; S2 covers climate specifically. Now mandatory in Kenya and Tanzania, with adoption accelerating across Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
TCFD — Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures
Developed by the Financial Stability Board. Guides companies on disclosing climate-related financial risks and opportunities to investors. Now referenced by regulators across the UAE, KSA and Africa, and embedded in ISSB's IFRS S2.
ESRS — European Sustainability Reporting Standards
The mandatory reporting standards under the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), developed by EFRAG. Relevant to any company with EU operations, investors or supply chain relationships, including firms headquartered in the Middle East and Africa.
IFC Performance Standards on Environmental & Social Sustainability
Eight international standards defining responsibilities for managing environmental and social risk in private sector investment. The global benchmark used by development finance institutions and major investors across Africa and the Middle East.
UNEP FI Principles for Responsible Banking
A framework aligning bank strategy and practice with the UN SDGs and the Paris Agreement, signed by over 300 banks globally including major institutions across Africa and the Middle East.
TNFD — Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures
The emerging global framework for assessing, disclosing and managing nature and biodiversity-related financial risks. Increasingly referenced by global investors and regulators as the next frontier of sustainability disclosure after climate.
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity by 2030. Most sustainability strategies, impact investment frameworks and DFI mandates align to specific SDGs.
CSRD — Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive
The EU law requiring large companies to report on how sustainability issues affect their business and how their business affects people and the environment. Relevant to any MEA company with EU investors, operations or supply chain exposure.
Scope 1, 2 & 3 Emissions
Scope 1 covers direct emissions from owned operations. Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from purchased energy. Scope 3 covers all other indirect emissions across the value chain, typically the largest and hardest to measure. The UAE Climate Change Law requires reporting on all three.
Materiality & Double Materiality
Materiality identifies which sustainability issues matter most. Financial materiality assesses how these risks affect company value. Double materiality, required under ESRS, also asks how the company affects people and the planet. GRI uses impact materiality; ISSB uses financial materiality.
Green Bond / Green Sukuk
Debt instruments where proceeds must be used for environmentally beneficial projects, governed by ICMA's Green Bond Principles. Green Sukuk is the Islamic finance equivalent. Both are growing rapidly across UAE, KSA and African capital markets.
Blended Finance
The strategic use of concessional public or philanthropic capital to reduce risk and attract private investment for sustainable development. A core tool for mobilising capital across African markets where risk perceptions often deter commercial investors.
Net Zero
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions to as close to zero as possible, with any remaining emissions balanced by removals or offsets. The UAE targets Net Zero by 2050; Saudi Arabia by 2060. Both commitments are registered under the UNFCCC's Paris Agreement framework.
Just Transition
Ensuring the shift to a low-carbon economy is equitable, protecting workers, communities and developing nations most affected. Particularly relevant across Africa, where fossil-fuel industries support large workforces, and referenced by UNEP FI and the ILO.
Paris Agreement
The landmark 2015 international treaty under the UNFCCC, committing signatories to limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. All of Amal's core markets — UAE, Saudi Arabia and African nations — are signatories.
Carbon Credit
A tradeable certificate representing the reduction, removal or avoidance of one metric tonne of CO₂-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon credits are generated by projects that reduce emissions — renewable energy, reforestation, methane capture — and can be purchased by companies to offset their residual emissions. The UAE's National Carbon Credit Register (Cabinet Resolution No. 67 of 2024) establishes the sovereign framework for issuing and tracking carbon credits domestically.
Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM)
A market in which companies, governments and individuals voluntarily buy and sell carbon credits to offset emissions outside of mandatory compliance schemes. Credits are issued by independent standards bodies — most commonly Verra (VCS) and Gold Standard. The VCM is growing rapidly across the UAE and Africa, though quality, additionality and permanence concerns have prompted significant governance reform since 2023.
Article 6 — Paris Agreement Carbon Markets
The provision of the Paris Agreement enabling countries to trade emissions reductions internationally through Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs). Article 6.2 governs bilateral trades between countries; Article 6.4 establishes a new UN-supervised crediting mechanism replacing the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). Article 6 rules were finalised at COP29 in 2024, opening significant opportunities for African nations with large mitigation potential to generate and sell credits to UAE, KSA and European buyers.
IREC — International Renewable Energy Certificate
A market-based instrument certifying that one megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity was generated from a renewable source and fed into the grid. Companies use IRECs to substantiate Scope 2 renewable energy claims under the GHG Protocol's market-based accounting method. IRECs are increasingly required by multinationals procuring from MEA supply chains and are relevant to entities reporting under ISSB S2 or the UAE Climate Change Law.
CBAM — Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
An EU regulation imposing a carbon price on imports of emissions-intensive goods — initially steel, cement, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen — entering the EU market. Exporters in non-EU countries, including across Africa and the Middle East, must document and report the embedded carbon content of their products or face financial penalties. The transitional reporting phase is active; full financial adjustment begins January 2026.
Additionality
A core integrity criterion for carbon credits: a project is 'additional' only if the emission reductions it generates would not have occurred in the absence of carbon market revenue. Without additionality, a credit does not represent a real climate benefit. Additionality assessment is one of the most contested and reform-driven areas of voluntary carbon market governance — relevant to any company purchasing credits to support net zero claims.
CORSIA — Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation
The ICAO-administered global scheme requiring international airlines to offset carbon emissions above 2019 baseline levels. Relevant to UAE-headquartered airlines and aviation sector entities, as well as African carriers expanding international routes. CORSIA sets its own quality criteria for eligible carbon credits, driving demand for high-integrity voluntary carbon market supply.
ESG Integration
The systematic inclusion of environmental, social and governance factors in investment analysis and portfolio construction — not as a values screen, but as a lens for identifying material financial risks and opportunities. Distinct from ethical investing or exclusion screening. Now standard practice among institutional investors globally, including Gulf sovereign wealth funds, and increasingly required by DFIs deploying capital into Africa and the Middle East.
Impact Investing
Investments made with the explicit intention of generating measurable positive social or environmental outcomes alongside financial returns. Distinct from ESG integration, which focuses on risk management. Impact investors — including DFIs, foundations and specialist funds — are a significant source of capital for sustainability-linked projects across Africa, requiring robust impact measurement and management frameworks.
Greenwashing
The practice of making misleading or unsubstantiated claims about the environmental credentials of a product, service, strategy or investment. Regulators in the EU, UK and increasingly the UAE and KSA are taking enforcement action against greenwashing — with ESMA, the FCA and ADGM all publishing guidance. Companies and financial institutions face legal, regulatory and reputational risk if sustainability claims cannot be substantiated with verifiable data.
Sustainability-Linked Loan (SLL) / Sustainability-Linked Bond (SLB)
Financing instruments where the interest rate or coupon is tied to the borrower's performance against predetermined sustainability KPIs — such as emissions reduction, renewable energy procurement, or gender pay equity targets. Distinct from green bonds, where proceeds are ring-fenced for green projects. Growing rapidly across UAE and African banking markets as lenders integrate sustainability into credit pricing.
PRI — Principles for Responsible Investment
A UN-supported network of over 5,000 institutional investors — managing more than USD 120 trillion — committed to incorporating environmental, social and governance factors into investment decisions. PRI signatories include major Gulf sovereign wealth funds and pension funds. Companies seeking institutional capital or DFI co-investment are increasingly evaluated against PRI-aligned criteria.
Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD)
The process by which companies identify, prevent, mitigate and account for adverse human rights impacts across their operations and value chains. Mandatory HRDD is required under the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D) for large companies with EU nexus — including MEA suppliers. The IFC Performance Standards and UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) set the international baseline.
Stakeholder Engagement
The structured process of identifying, consulting and responding to the concerns of groups affected by or with an interest in an organisation's activities — including employees, communities, investors, regulators, suppliers and civil society. Required under GRI, ISSB, IFC Performance Standards and ESRS. In MEA contexts, meaningful community engagement is particularly material in extractives, infrastructure and agribusiness.
CS3D — EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive
The EU law requiring large companies to conduct due diligence on human rights and environmental risks across their full value chains, and to adopt a transition plan aligned to the Paris Agreement. Applies to non-EU companies with significant EU revenue, meaning it reaches MEA-headquartered firms supplying into Europe or accessing EU capital markets.
Physical Climate Risk
The financial risks arising from the direct physical impacts of climate change: acute events such as floods, storms and wildfires, and chronic shifts such as rising temperatures, sea level rise and changing rainfall patterns. Highly material across MEA: UAE infrastructure faces heat and flooding exposure; African agriculture, water systems and coastal assets face chronic stress. Required to be disclosed under TCFD and ISSB S2.
Transition Risk
The financial risks arising from the shift to a low-carbon economy: policy changes (carbon pricing, fuel standards), technology shifts (electrification, renewables cost curves), and market repricing of carbon-intensive assets. For oil-dependent Gulf economies and fossil-fuel-linked African businesses, transition risk requires active scenario analysis and strategic adaptation, not merely disclosure.
Climate Scenario Analysis
A structured analytical method for assessing how different future climate pathways — including a 1.5°C, 2°C and 4°C warming scenario — affect an organisation's strategy, assets and cash flows. Required under TCFD and ISSB S2. Increasingly demanded by DFIs, institutional investors and banks as part of climate transition plan assessment in MEA markets.
GHG Protocol
The world's most widely used accounting standard for greenhouse gas emissions, developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). Defines the methodology for calculating Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and underpins virtually all major reporting frameworks — GRI, ISSB, TCFD and the UAE Climate Change Law reporting requirements.
Science-Based Targets (SBTi)
Emissions reduction targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative as consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. SBTi validation provides independent credibility to corporate net zero commitments and is increasingly required by institutional investors, DFIs and procurement teams as evidence of genuine climate ambition rather than aspirational pledge-making.
UAE Climate Change Law: A 90-Day Compliance Readiness Plan for Every Entity
Federal Decree-Law No. 11 of 2024 applies to every entity in the UAE. Full compliance is required by 30 May 2026. This guide walks organisations through a structured 90-day plan: establishing your greenhouse gas inventory boundary, identifying emission sources, selecting a reporting methodology, building internal accountability and preparing for regulatory scrutiny. Includes a compliance checklist, roles and responsibilities template, and a guide to the fine structure for non-compliance.
Sustainability Reporting in the UAE: A Practical Guide for Listed and Private Companies
Whether you are a company listed on the ADX or DFM, a private business preparing for an institutional capital raise, or an ADGM or DIFC-domiciled entity managing LP and regulatory expectations, your reporting obligations are not the same. This guide maps the UAE's layered disclosure landscape: SCA requirements for listed companies, CBUAE Sustainability Disclosure Principles for financial institutions, ADGM thresholds, and which voluntary frameworks are now effectively mandatory in practice.
From Compliance to Competitive Advantage: Building a Sustainability Strategy That Delivers Business Value in the UAE
Regulatory compliance sets the floor. This guide is for companies that want to turn sustainability into a source of commercial advantage: reduced financing costs through green lending, stronger positioning for government procurement, improved talent retention and readiness for institutional investment or M&A. Covers materiality assessment, target-setting, linking sustainability performance to business KPIs and communicating progress to the stakeholders that matter.
What Your Institutional Investors, Lenders and Acquirers Are Now Requiring on Sustainability — and How to Be Ready
Sustainability expectations are arriving from multiple directions at once: DFIs requiring IFC Performance Standards alignment before deploying capital, banks linking loan pricing to sustainability KPIs, sovereign wealth funds applying sustainability screens to co-investment decisions, and strategic buyers repricing acquisition targets based on emissions profile and regulatory compliance. This guide is for UAE-based private companies navigating these demands.
Sustainability Compliance Across Africa's Five Key Markets: A Guide for Companies and Investors
Whether you are a company operating across multiple African markets or an investor deploying capital into the continent, the regulatory landscape is moving fast and unevenly. This guide covers mandatory ISSB/IFRS S1 & S2 reporting timelines in Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, South Africa and Egypt; local regulatory bodies; sector-specific risks; and how companies can build a compliance posture that also satisfies the requirements of development finance institutions and institutional co-investors.
South Africa Sustainability Brief: JSE Disclosure, Just Transition Risk and What It Means for Your Business
South Africa's sustainability landscape is more complex and consequential than most pan-African frameworks capture. For JSE-listed companies, mandatory IFRS S1 & S2 climate disclosure is now a reporting reality. For private companies, the FSCA's sustainable finance guidance and the expectations of South Africa's large pension funds and DFI community are reshaping the cost and availability of capital. This brief addresses what companies must report, what they should be managing, and how South Africa's distinct risk profile demands a locally-informed approach.
Accessing Green and Sustainability-Linked Finance in Africa: A Practical Guide for Companies
Green bonds, sustainability-linked loans, blended finance facilities and DFI concessional capital are increasingly available to African companies, but accessing them requires credible sustainability foundations that most businesses have not yet built. This guide walks companies through what each financing instrument requires in practice: baseline assessments, KPI frameworks, second-party opinions, use-of-proceeds structures and reporting obligations that lenders and investors expect.
Sustainability Due Diligence: What Institutional Investors Now Expect Before Deploying Capital
Institutional investors, sovereign wealth funds and development finance institutions have materially raised their sustainability due diligence requirements. This guide explains what a credible sustainability due diligence process looks like from the investor's perspective, what documentation and evidence is expected, and how companies can prepare efficiently without diverting management bandwidth from operations.
Source Integrity
All resources on this page are sourced exclusively from primary institutions: ADGM, UAE MOCCAE, Saudi Vision 2030, Saudi CMA, Saudi Green Initiatives, African Development Bank, IFC / World Bank Group, UNEP FI, IFRS Foundation, Financial Stability Board, EFRAG, TNFD, GRI, ICMA, ILO and the United Nations. Amal Sustainability Partners does not rely on commercial advisory firms as sources. We go direct to the regulators and standard-setters.