The 12th World Green Economy Summit (WGES) concluded at the Dubai World Trade Centre, convening policymakers, multilateral lenders, and debt analysts to discuss sustainable finance and industrial decarbonisation pathways, according to reports cited by The National.
Bashar Al Natoor, managing director and global head of Islamic finance at Fitch Ratings, reported that outstanding green sukuk and bonds across the GCC reached $73 billion. He stated that in the first nine months of 2026, GCC ESG issuance represented roughly 40 percent of all US-dollar ESG issuance from emerging markets, excluding China. Al Natoor also pointed to First Abu Dhabi Bank's digital green sukuk issuance and noted that the World Bank's International Finance Corporation mobilised $112 billion in private sector investment in financial year 2026.
World Bank regional climate lead Syed Adeel Abbas stated that the UAE holds the capital reserves and policy framework required to scale up industrial decarbonisation and meet targets established at COP28. He identified green hydrogen as a key emerging export sector and observed that international standards, including the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), are providing incentives to reduce carbon intensity across UAE heavy industries such as aluminium manufacturing.
Other speakers included Yousif Al Lootah, founder and chief executive of Lootah Biofuels, who reviewed the domestic expansion of the UAE biofuel sector since 2010, and Jonathan Maxwell, founder and group chief executive of Sustainable Development Capital LLP, who called on investors to focus on operational efficiency and cleaner resource models.
Sources
- UECN · 2026-10-28
