The Arab Federation of Capital Markets (AFCM) launched in early February an initiative to encourage its members to join the Net Zero Exchange Group. The signatures for the pledge will be announced in April during the AFCM Annual Conference in Doha, Qatar.
Haitham Al Salmi, CEO of the Muscat Stock Exchange and Chairman of AFCM Board of Directors, said “We launch today an Arab initiative to urge the Arab stock exchanges to join the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges (UN SSE) initiative in signing the Net Zero Pledge and joining the Net Zero Exchange Group. In fact we believe that the Arab stock exchanges have the potential to be leaders in the field of sustainable finance and have already demonstrated a strong commitment in this area by implementing various sustainable initiatives over the past years.”
“The UN SSE welcomes and supports AFCM’s initiative and will continue to assist regional exchange associations around the world in encouraging stock exchanges to take action in the face of the climate crisis,” said Anthony Miller, Chief Coordinator of the UN SSE. “Exchanges can play an important role in providing normative guidance and market education to help capital market stakeholders contribute to the global transition to a sustainable, net-zero economy.”
AFCM counts 17 stock exchange members and is committed to supporting arab exchanges in the region by creating a transparent and developed environment for the arab capital markets. Read more about AFCM: https://www.arab-exchanges.org/
The UN SSE launched the Net Zero Exchange Group in 2022 and it became an official partner of the UN-backed global campaign Race to Zero in 2023 when it was approved by the UN Climate Change High-level Champions. Dr Mahmoud Mohieldin and Her Excellency Ms Razan Al Mubarak, UN Climate Change High-Level Champions, highlighted at the time “the pivotal role of stock exchanges in catalysing the transition to a sustainable future.”
The Net Zero Exchange Group is part of the Net Zero Financial Services Providers Alliance (NZFSPA), itself a part of the broader Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) which was launched at the COP26 climate summit. The exchange group currently has 11 members. In 2023, the UN SSE published Net Zero Target-Setting Guidance for Exchanges.
