More than 12 companies, some from Saudi Arabia, will participate in an auction to sell over two million tons of carbon credits today, Wednesday, as the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, hosts what the event organizers have described as the largest sale of its kind in the world. The auction will be conducted by the Regional Voluntary Carbon Market Company, established by the Saudi Public Investment Fund and the Saudi Stock Exchange, in Nairobi. The company stated in a statement that the certified credits to be sold will fund either "projects that avoid carbon emissions by using renewable energy sources or energy efficiency improvement technologies, or through projects that capture emissions from the air and store them," without naming the participating companies.
It added that the Nairobi auction includes "projects supplying clean and improved cooking stoves in Kenya and Rwanda, and renewable energy projects in Egypt and South Africa." The company explained that Nairobi was chosen to host the second event "to confirm the important role of voluntary carbon markets in attracting investments and bringing them to emerging economies." Last week, the World Bank said that Kenya could turn the climate change threat it faces into an opportunity by attracting green investments from international investors. The bank also noted that Kenya contributes less than one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions annually, allowing it opportunities to increase carbon credit issuances. Critics of carbon markets have previously raised concerns such as a lack of transparency, scarcity of credits, and questions related to the quality of projects. The Regional Voluntary Carbon Market Company held its first auction in Riyadh last October, where 1.4 million tons of carbon credits were sold.
