Agenda – Carbon Forward Middle East 2025

08.30     Registration and coffee

09.00     Welcome address

Louis Redshaw, Co-founder, Carbon Forward & CEO and Founder, Redshaw Advisors and Net Zero Markets
Alejandra Padin-Dujon, Environmental Markets Correspondent, Carbon Pulse
Ivan Mozharov, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Offset8 Capital

09.15     COP29 recap – what happened in Baku and what does this mean for the Middle East?

Moderator:
Alejandra Padin-Dujon, Environmental Markets Correspondent, Carbon Pulse

Panellists:
Andrea Bonzanni, International Policy Director, IETA
Mohamed Ben Salem, Director of Strategic Programs, Global Climate Finance Centre (GCFC)

09.35     The path to net zero and the importance of putting a price on carbon 

• What is the economic case for putting a price on carbon?
• What is the extent of investment and regulation required to achieve net zero?
• What can organisations do to reliably and cost effectively accelerate their net zero transitions?

Presenter:
Guy Turner, Managing Director, Carbon Markets, MSCI

09.50     Middle East compliance carbon market developments

• Update on the region’s progress towards putting a price on carbon.
  
• What will the price of carbon be, what if a company gets it wrong?
• What opportunities does a market for carbon present?
• Key considerations and issues for trading voluntary carbon credits on an exchange

Moderator:
Zoe Knight, Managing Director, Global Research, HSBC

Panellists:
Akin Adamson, Director, Middle East, Ricardo
Allister Furey, CEO and Co-founder, Sylvera
Anna Nerush, Partner, Clyde & Co LLP
Kishor Rajhansa, COO, Global Carbon Council

10.30     Coffee and networking break

11.00     Cap and trade markets around the globe – what lessons can be learnt from existing models? 

• A focus on cap and trade – how it works
• What does cap and trade get right and wrong, based on global case studies (e.g. EU, WCI, RGGI, South Korea)
• How does cap and trade’s success contrast with other market mechanisms?

Moderator:
Roy Manuell, EMEA Markets Editor, Carbon Pulse

Presenters:
Gordon Bennett, Managing Director, Utility Markets, ICE
Mike Szabo, Director and Co-founder, Carbon Pulse 

11.30     Trading in the emerging MENA carbon markets 

• What infrastructure is needed and being developed for carbon markets to operate and how does it compare to mature carbon markets?
• How have the African and Middle Eastern private sector and governments instituted the necessary policies, operations, and controls? 

Moderator:
Andrew Cullen, Head of Sales, Energroup 

Panellists:
Dan Barnes, Director, Exchange Business Development, Environmental Solutions, S&P Global Commodity Insights
Gordon Bennett, Managing Director, Utility Markets, ICE
Jeffrey Berman, Senior Director, Xpansiv

12.15    Lunch and networking

12.30     Prayer time

13.30     The impacts of CBAM and shipping carbon costs on the region. How are governments responding?

• What is the impact on UAE, Saudi, Oman and Egypt? What are they planning to do about it?
• Are there any regional carbon pricing initiatives?
• The importance of owning the cost of carbon in the region

Moderator:
Louis Redshaw, CEO and Founder, Redshaw Advisors and Net Zero Markets

Presenters:
Yousef Abbas, Senior Sustainability Specialist, AD Ports Gorup
Ramazan Aslan, Managing Partner, Life Climate

14.15     Investing in carbon markets 

• As different legal and regulatory regimes attempt to define the nature of carbon credits, Middle Eastern and African governments have called for more synchronised policies to grow the voluntary market. How can efforts to minimise regulatory fragmentation facilitate project development, trading, risk management, and greater convergence with Paris Agreement and compliance carbon markets? 

Moderator:
Katie Sullivan, Managing Director, IETA

Panellists:
Lars Kroijer, Founder and Managing Director, AlliedOffsets
Jules Maitrepierre, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Offset8 Capital
Kenneth Markowitz, Partner, Akin Gump

15.00     Afternoon tea

15.30   Aviation carbon – CORSIA and ETSs

• Now in its voluntary phase, CORSIA will become mandatory as of 2027. Who is involved, what must they do?
  
• What is the scale of the problem and the opportunities that exist? 

Moderator:
Louis Redshaw, CEO and Founder, Redshaw Advisors and Net Zero Markets

Panellists:
Takashi Hongo, Senior Fellow, Mitsui & Co. Global Strategic Studies Institute
Walid Jalkh, Director, Koko Networks
Guy Turner, Managing Director, Carbon Markets, MSCI

16.15     CCUS and Removals – their eligibility in cap and trade markets 

• What are they?
• How much do they cost?
  
• Their applicability in cap and trade markets, now and in the future 

Moderator:
Katie Sullivan, Managing Director, IETA

Panellists:
Bojana Bajzelj, VP Carbon Removal, BeZero Carbon
Pavan Chilukuri, Vice President & Global Head – CCUS, Holcim
Paul Zakkour, Director, Carbon Counts

17.00     Close of day one