Mubadala Acquires Stake in ACX, First Fully Regulated Carbon Exchange

Mubadala Investment Company PJSC, an Abu Dhabi sovereign investor, has acquired a strategic stake in AirCarbon Exchange (ACX), the global exchange revolutionizing the voluntary carbon market.

The acquisition by Mubadala supports ACX’s establishment of the first fully regulated carbon trading exchange and carbon clearing house in Abu Dhabi.

ACX is a global environmental commodities exchange that uses distributed ledger technology leveraging blockchain architecture to create securitized carbon credits.

This framework allows corporates to trade and finance carbon credits like conventional financial assets, increasing participation and investment in global programs for carbon emission reduction and offset.

As part of its responsible investing and economic diversification mandate, Mubadala is investing in commercially attractive solutions to the world’s most significant challenges and is purposefully deploying capital in high growth sectors that drive substantial change.

The announcement was made during the first edition of Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW) hosted by ADGM between 14 and 18th November 2022, in partnership with key economic drivers of the Abu Dhabi economy and a group of global and regional financial institutions.

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The week-long event serves as a platform for in-depth conversations around the MENA region’s thriving financial sector, industry trends, developments and innovation involving financial markets and global banking.

Commenting on this, H.E. Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), said: “The UAE continues to be a leader in leveraging the path to a lower carbon economy to safeguard the environment, drive down emissions and create lasting economic opportunities.

"The investment by Mubadala in ACX is a great testament to the commitment towards climate action, which will enable investors and businesses to voluntarily purchase verified emissions reductions in the form of carbon credits within the progressive ecosystem of ADGM."

ADGM is the first jurisdiction to regulate carbon credits and offsets as environmental instruments, a class of financial instruments, and to license exchanges and clearing houses that operate both spot and derivatives markets.

In addition, ADGM itself has achieved ‘carbon neutrality’ by offsetting its 2021 carbon emissions as an organization to become the world’s first carbon-neutral international financial center, underpinning its commitment to building a progressive and more sustainable economy in line with the UAE Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative.

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