The 12th World Green Economy Summit (WGES) concluded at the Dubai World Trade Centre, gathering policymakers, multilateral lenders, debt market analysts, and corporate leaders to review green economy financing and decarbonisation pathways, The National reported.
Bashar Al Natoor, managing director and global head of Islamic finance at Fitch Ratings, stated at the summit that outstanding green sukuk and bonds issued across the GCC have reached $73 billion. In the first nine months of 2026, GCC ESG issuance accounted for roughly 40 percent of all US-dollar ESG issuance originating from emerging markets, excluding China. Al Natoor also referenced First Abu Dhabi Bank's issuance of a digital green sukuk and noted that the World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC) mobilised $112 billion in private sector investment during financial year 2026.
Syed Adeel Abbas, regional climate lead for the World Bank, stated that the UAE holds sufficient capital reserves and policy frameworks to advance industrial decarbonisation and net-zero targets established at COP28. He cited green hydrogen as an emerging export sector and pointed out that international regulations such as the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) incentivise carbon intensity reductions across UAE heavy industry, including aluminium manufacturing.
Other industry leaders addressing the summit included Yousif Al Lootah, founder and chief executive of Lootah Biofuels, who outlined the domestic development of the UAE biofuel sector since 2010, and Jonathan Maxwell, founder and group chief executive of Sustainable Development Capital LLP, who urged investors to prioritise operational efficiency and cleaner, faster resource models.
Sources
- UECN · 2026-10-26
