Carbon credits are becoming a more serious commercial subject for UAE companies. Businesses are measuring emissions more closely, buyers are asking suppliers for climate data and the UAE now has a formal framework for registering and trading carbon credits.
For SMEs looking at carbon credit trading in Abu Dhabi, however, there is one important update to understand first. ACX, formerly known as AirCarbon Exchange, did operate a regulated carbon exchange and clearing house in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). That structure has changed.
ACX wound down its regulated ADGM exchange and clearing operations in late 2024. Its former FSRA recognition was formally revoked on April 2025. ACX still maintains a technology centre and regional marketing team in Abu Dhabi while its global carbon trading infrastructure continues through its Singapore platform.
So, what does this mean if you run a UAE SME and want to buy, sell or develop carbon credits? Here is the current picture.
What Is Carbon Credit Trading?
A carbon credit generally represents a verified quantity of greenhouse gas emissions reduced or removed. Credits can then be transferred between buyers and sellers and, depending on the system being used, retired when a buyer wants to apply them toward a climate commitment.
The important word here is verified. You cannot replace equipment, calculate an estimated emissions saving and immediately sell that saving as a carbon credit. Credible markets require project rules, measurement, independent verification, registry records and safeguards against issues such as double counting.
The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market's Core Carbon Principles, for example, cover areas such as tracking, transparency, independent verification, additionality, permanence and robust quantification. These are useful checks even when a business is buying credits rather than developing them.
For businesses still building their emissions reporting process, Nexture's UAE ESG reporting guide explains the wider reporting and sustainability framework.
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Is ACX Still a Carbon Exchange in Abu Dhabi?
ACX Abu Dhabi went live in ADGM in October 2023 as a regulated exchange and clearing house. First Abu Dhabi Bank was involved in its first exchange trade and other carbon-market participants used its Carbon Market Board.
On 11 October 2024, ACX announced an orderly wind-down. Exchange operations were scheduled to end after 25 October 2024 and clearing-house operations after 1 November 2024. ADGM's FSRA public register now lists ACX Ltd's status as revoked, with a revocation date of 9 April 2025.
ACX did not disappear. The company said it would retain its technology centre and regional marketing team in Abu Dhabi while centralising clearing in Singapore. Its current platform advertises 24/7 access and includes spot trading, a Market Board, settlement services and auctions. ACX also says members can access several types of carbon credits without maintaining separate registry accounts for each product.
For an Abu Dhabi SME, the distinction is important. You should not assume you are joining the former FSRA-regulated ACX Abu Dhabi exchange simply because your company is based in the emirate.
Can a UAE SME Participate in Carbon Credit Trading?
Potentially, yes. The UAE's Cabinet Resolution No. 67 of 2024 Concerning the National Register for Carbon Credits divides participants into different categories. Businesses with annual UAE Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions of at least 0.5 million metric tonnes of CO2e fall within the high-emitter category.
Companies below that threshold may voluntarily apply to participate in the UAE National Register for Carbon Credits legislation and obtain or trade carbon credits. The Resolution applies across the UAE, including financial and non-financial free zones.
Voluntary participation does not remove the compliance work. Once you enter the regime as a participating entity, emissions data, monitoring, reporting, verification and credit approval requirements become important. Approved participating entities may sell credits through carbon-credit trading platforms, including platforms within financial free zones.
Abu Dhabi Is Building Its Own Carbon MRV Infrastructure
Abu Dhabi is developing a more detailed emissions-data system alongside the federal framework.
The Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi launched its facility-level Measurement, Reporting and Verification programme in December 2024. Large carbon-emitting facilities must monitor their emissions, report them annually and use third-party verification, with the first reports due in 2026.
EAD has also been studying potential carbon-pricing mechanisms for the emirate. The current MRV work is designed to create reliable emissions data that could support future policy decisions.
For most ordinary office-based SMEs, emissions are likely to be far below the levels associated with major industrial facilities. A manufacturing, transport, energy or other emissions-intensive business should check its position rather than assuming its SME status provides an exemption.
Where Are the Opportunities for UAE SMEs?
There are several ways SMEs can participate, but trading credits for short-term price gains should not be confused with running a sound carbon strategy.
Developing a Carbon Project
A company may have an activity that genuinely reduces or removes emissions. Examples can include certain waste-management projects, methane reduction, carbon-removal technology, energy-efficiency programmes or nature-based projects.
The commercial question is whether those reductions qualify under an accepted methodology and whether project scale is large enough to cover monitoring, validation, verification, registry and transaction costs.
Under the UAE framework, verified credits need the required approval before they can become part of the National Register. Registration alone does not turn every tonne saved into a saleable credit.
Buying Credits for Residual Emissions
Some SMEs may be buyers rather than project developers.
A supplier working with large international companies, for example, may face increasingly detailed requests for emissions information. Buying credible carbon credits may form one part of its climate programme after direct reductions have been addressed.
Keep evidence of the project, vintage, registry, serial numbers, retirement status and the claim you are making. Do not buy an inexpensive credit simply because the certificate looks professional.
Supplying Carbon-Market Services
The growth of MRV, climate reporting and carbon projects can also create work for technology firms, environmental consultants, data providers and professional-services businesses.
The UAE launched its National MRV System in October 2025 to bring greenhouse gas and air-pollutant monitoring into an integrated national platform. That creates a stronger need for companies that can maintain reliable operational and emissions data.
The exact licence and regulatory permissions depend on what your company is doing. Providing software is very different from operating a trading platform, managing investments or arranging financial transactions, so your licensed activity should match your actual revenue model.
What Are Carbon Credits Worth?
There is no standard price for one carbon credit.
MSCI reported that its Global Carbon Credit Price Index averaged about USD 3.50 per tCO2e in 2025, down from USD 4.30 in 2024. Its index covering credits rated BBB and above averaged USD 6.80, showing how strongly quality can affect pricing.
Consider a simple example. If a project eventually issued 10,000 eligible credits, a price of USD 3.50 would represent USD 35,000 in gross credit value. At USD 6.80, the same number of credits would represent USD 68,000.
Neither figure is a profit forecast. Project development, validation, verification, registry charges, brokerage, trading fees and other costs still have to be deducted. Market prices also change by project type, vintage, methodology, location and buyer requirements.
The World Bank's State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2026 report found that global carbon-credit issuance increased 8% between 2024 and 2025 while higher-rated projects continued to receive price premiums.
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How Can an SME Approach ACX Today?
- Measure Your Emissions First
Work out your Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions and identify any material Scope 3 sources relevant to your customers or reporting framework. You need a reliable baseline before deciding whether buying or developing credits makes commercial sense.
- Decide Whether You Are a Buyer or Seller
Buying credits requires quality screening and clear retirement records. Developing credits requires far more work because you need an eligible project, methodology, monitoring system and verification route.
- Check UAE Regulatory Requirements
Review your position under Cabinet Resolution No. 67 of 2024 and Abu Dhabi's applicable MRV requirements. A business planning to trade regularly, provide brokerage services or operate a trading platform should obtain specific regulatory advice before launching the activity.
- Ask ACX for Current Onboarding Terms
ACX currently promotes a global carbon trading platform, but SMEs should obtain the latest requirements directly rather than relying on historic ACX Abu Dhabi fee schedules or membership rules.
Ask about current company eligibility, KYC documentation, minimum trade sizes, account funding, fees, custody, supported registries, retirement procedures and the legal entity providing the service.
- Check the Credit Before Checking the Price
Look at the registry, project methodology, vintage, additionality, permanence risks, independent verification and retirement rules. If you do not understand what created the credit, buying it because it costs less can create problems later.
- Keep a Clear Audit Trail
Maintain purchase documents, project records, registry information, ownership transfers and retirement evidence. This becomes especially important if you make environmental claims in tenders, ESG reports or communications with customers.
Main Risks SMEs Should Watch
Low-quality credits: Two credits representing the same nominal tonne of CO2e can have very different environmental credibility and prices. Quality screening is part of the purchase decision.
Double counting: A reduction should not be claimed more than once. Registry records and retirement controls help manage this risk.
Regulatory changes: UAE carbon regulation is still developing. Federal rules, Abu Dhabi MRV requirements and trading-platform regulation should be checked again before a transaction or new service launch.
Commercial risk: Carbon prices can move and some credits have limited liquidity. SMEs should avoid building a business case that assumes every generated credit will find a buyer at a particular price.
Green claims: Buying credits does not replace reducing your own emissions. Companies should use careful, evidence-based wording when explaining what credits have achieved.
Conclusion
Carbon credit trading in Abu Dhabi is entering a more structured phase, but the market looks different from the one described in older ACX articles.
The former ACX exchange and clearing house in ADGM has been wound down, while ACX continues as a global carbon-market platform with its technology and regional presence retained in Abu Dhabi. At the same time, the UAE now has a National Register for Carbon Credits and Abu Dhabi is strengthening facility-level emissions measurement and reporting.
For SMEs, the sensible starting point is not buying credits immediately. Measure your emissions, understand whether you want to buy credits or develop a project, check the applicable UAE rules and then compare current trading routes.
If the numbers work and the credits stand up to scrutiny, carbon markets can create a useful new commercial option. If the project lacks reliable measurement or verification, putting it on an exchange will not fix the underlying problem.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is ACX still regulated by ADGM?
No. ACX wound down its regulated ADGM exchange operations after 25 October 2024 and its clearing-house operations shortly afterwards. ADGM's FSRA public register records the recognition of ACX Ltd as revoked on 9 April 2025.
Can an SME in the UAE trade carbon credits?
The UAE framework allows below-threshold public and private entities to participate voluntarily in the National Register for Carbon Credits and obtain or trade approved credits. Registration, MRV, verification and platform requirements still need to be followed.
Does installing solar panels automatically create carbon credits?
No. A reduction needs to qualify under the relevant crediting methodology and meet monitoring, verification and registration requirements before it can become an approved tradable credit. The project must also deal with issues such as additionality and double counting.
How much is one carbon credit worth?
There is no fixed market price. MSCI's global index averaged USD 3.50/tCO2e in 2025 while its BBB-and-above index averaged USD 6.80, but individual credits can trade well above or below those figures depending on quality and project characteristics.
Is carbon credit trading compulsory for UAE SMEs?
Not simply because a company is an SME. Cabinet Resolution No. 67 of 2024 sets a 500,000 tCO2e annual Scope 1 and Scope 2 threshold for entities classified as huge carbon emitters, while below-threshold companies may participate voluntarily. Other federal, Abu Dhabi or sector-specific emissions reporting requirements can still apply.
