Blended Finance in the Middle East & North Africa

This report gathers key takeaways from CBAM Policy Hack: UAE’s Path Forward, an event which brought together relevant stakeholders from across the public, private, and third sectors to identify challenges and opportunities related to the implementation of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and provide recommendations regarding strategies for adapting to CBAM. The CBAM is designed to prevent “carbon leakage,” where manufacturing relocates from countries with stringent emission regulations to those with lax standards. It imposes a tax on the carbon content of imports from certain sectors. A CBAM is in the process of being implemented in the European Union (EU) and is scheduled to be imposed in the United Kingdom (UK) by 2027. With support from the British Embassy in the UAE, CBAM Policy Hack: The UAE’s Path Forward was hosted by UICCA and the UAE’s Ministry of Economy. The presence of industry players at the event encouraged knowledge sharing on how to reduce emissions across industries affected by CBAM. The event was organised based on thorough research and designed to gather diverse perspectives on how CBAM affects the UAE.

This report provides tailored EV policy considerations for the UAE, addressing key barriers across manufacturing, operation, and end-of-life stages. It includes insights from international case studies and highlights best practices for greener mobility.