Saudi Arabia’s Carbon Market Gains Traction with Key Asian Partnerships

The Regional Voluntary Carbon Market Company has been busy in Tokyo, sealing two partnerships that suggest Saudi Arabia’s push to build a high‑integrity carbon market is getting real traction in Asia. During the FII Priority Summit, the company signed an MoU with Marubeni Saudi Investment Company and brought Climate Bridge International on board as an advisory partner. It’s the kind of moment that, at Arageek, often reminds us how quickly the sustainability space can shift when the right players decide to link arms.

From what was shared publicly, the agreement with Marubeni is expected to widen VCM’s reach across Asia and deepen its membership base. Acting CEO Fadi Saadeh described the move as opening a new chapter with some of the region’s strongest economies, saying it reflects the trust being placed in Saudi Arabia’s efforts to build what he called a world‑class, transparent carbon market. And believe it or not, Japan’s interest in the sector is far from new; Marubeni itself has long been involved in carbon‑credit trading and renewable energy, so this tie‑up feels, well… pretty spot on.

Marubeni’s chairman in Saudi Arabia, Naoki Tamaki, linked the partnership to the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, highlighting ambitions to back a low‑carbon transition and create a “trusted ecosystem” for voluntary carbon trading. I reckon that kind of language will resonate with investors who’ve been sitting on the fence, unsure whether regional markets can meet global integrity standards. On the flip side, building trust is usually a bit of a faff, especially when companies from different continents try to align their methods, so it’s not exactly smooth sailing from here.

Climate Bridge International, meanwhile, will work with VCM to help accelerate carbon project development in Saudi Arabia and across the global south. Its CEO Alvin Lim spoke about combining VCM’s market‑building role with the firm’s own project development chops to shape the next generation of high‑quality initiatives. I’ve met founders in the climate‑tech space who often tell me that without this kind of technical partnership, early‑stage projects struggle to get investment-ready, so this announcement didn’t surprise me one bit.

All this comes just a few months after VCM launched Saudi Arabia’s first voluntary carbon credit exchange platform in November 2024. The exchange is meant to offer a more transparent and liquid market, something the sector desperately needs as voluntary offset markets grow from around USD 2 billion in 2020 to what analysts predict could hit USD 250 billion by 2050. If even half of that materialises, the region stands to benefit enormously—though I’m not a fan of overinflated projections that sometimes set startups up for disapointment.

The formal signing in Tokyo, attended by Saudi Ambassador Dr. Ghazi Binzagr and VCM chairperson Rania Nashar, underscored how strategically important these partnerships are to the Kingdom. And for anyone following VCM’s journey—from its first auction in Riyadh in 2022 to the record 2.2 million tons sold in Nairobi and the carbon market conference it co‑hosted for the global south—it’s clear the company is steadily trying to position itself as a serious global player.

If this momentum continues, we might see more Asian companies dipping their toes into Saudi Arabia’s emerging carbon ecosystem. For startups watching from the sidelines, it’s a reminder that climate‑related markets aren’t some far‑off future; they’re being built right now, sometimes in rooms that don’t make headlines until weeks later. As someone who’s seen how young founders in our region hustle to break into new sectors, I’m chuffed to bits whenever I spot partnerships that could open doors for more innovation down the line.

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