الهيئة العامة للرقابة المالية

• The meeting was part of a successful door-knocking mission organized by the Egyptian British Business Association.

      Finance and investment Ministers, as well as local and foreign investors attended the meeting.

Dr. Farid – FRA Chairman:

• FRA reported significant progress in the Voluntary Carbon Market. Fourteen projects have been registered within FRA’s database and twelve transactions have been successfully executed in the market.
• The number of carbon credits recorded in the Authority’s database has reached a substantial 18,375.

Dr. Mohamed Farid – FRA Chairman reviewed Egypt’s pioneering efforts to establish a regulated and monitored Voluntary Carbon Market during the Egyptian British Business Association’s door-knocking mission in London.

Ministers of Investment and Finance, Chairman of the Suez Canal Economic Zone, the Administrative Capital Urban Development Company and representatives of the Egyptian and British private sectors attended this high-level event.

The mission featured several meetings with Arab and foreign investors over three days, aiming to strengthen bilateral business relations, explore investment opportunities and promote economic cooperation between Egypt and the UK.

Dr. Farid participated in a panel discussion on the first day of the mission, focusing on managing trade relations between Egypt and the UK in light the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to be implemented shortly in Britain.

Dr. Farid announced that Egypt had taken a pioneering step by launching the first regulated and monitored voluntary carbon market in Africa. In August, several trading transactions were executed by domestic and foreign entities.

He emphasized that this regulatory initiative aligns with the commitments made at COP 27. The aim is to empower project implementers and financiers in agriculture, industry and other sectors to issue and sell carbon credits through established trading systems.

By attracting new investors, both domestic and international, the market seeks to increase investment in these projects and generate additional returns for project implementers. This ultimately contributes to Egypt’s leadership in this field and achieves sustainable economic growth.

Dr. Farid pointed out that the foundation for the new market was laid with Prime Minister’s Decree which amended the Capital Market Law no.95 of 1992 to recognize carbon credits as financial instruments. This decree also mandated the creation of a trading platform and a supervisory committee, both initiated by the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) Chaired by FRA Chairman. The committee includes representatives from the Ministry of Environment, the Stock Exchange and carbon market experts.

To expedite the activation of the new market, which plays a crucial role in supporting Egypt’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions, FRA issued a decree regulating listing of verification and validation bodies. Following the issuance of this decree, the Authority began receiving applications from individuals and organizations seeking to become verifiers and certifiers.

A rigorous evaluation process was conducted to assess the applicants’ abilities and qualifications.

As a result, three domestic and foreign verification and validation bodies were approved to operate in the market.

FRA has established listing and delisting rules for carbon credits. Additionally, FRA has outlined criteria for the adoption of local voluntary carbon registries, which serve as electronic platforms for recording the issuance, registration, and tracking of carbon credit transfers pursuant to the methodologies established by standard-setting bodies. Concurrently, FRA has finalized trading rules and  has approved settlement rules, incorporating feedback from extensive consultations.

FRA’s Chairman announced that the Committee for Supervision and Oversight of Carbon Emission Reduction Units had recently approved the registration of 12 additional projects in FRA’s database. This brings the total number of registered projects to 14. Currently, carbon credits for these projects will be issued, enabling them to be traded on the voluntary carbon market.

To date, the market has witnessed 12 successful trading transactions, involving approximately 4,500 carbon credits. In total, the Authority’s database now records 18,375 carbon credits.