Muscat – OQ Trading (OQT), the international energy and commodity-trading arm of the Government of Oman and Oman Environmental Service Holding Company (be’ah) on Tuesday signed a cooperation agreement for reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within the waste management industry in Oman.

The agreement is an important initiative to reduce GHG emissions in the sultanate in line with ministerial decision No. 30/2010 issued by the former Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs.

GHG reduction also forms an important part of be’ah’s objective to structure the waste management sector and its related services in a sustainable manner.

The framework resulting from the cooperation deal allows OQT to work in tandem with be’ah to identify and develop projects which adhere to international emission reduction standards.

OQT and be’ah will be together exploring multiple opportunities for projects within the field of waste management and waste-to-energy that will aid Oman’s decarbonisation and climate goals.

Through their engagement to date, some potential areas which have already been identified include biogas and methane reduction projects through rehabilitation of landfills, as well as exploring the possibilities of various crediting systems related to recycling.

The partnership will enable the delivery of efficient and environmentally sustainable services within the waste management sector in Oman, with sound economical returns by playing a role in the compliance and voluntary carbon markets internationally.

OQT has been at the forefront of Omani emissions efforts, having developed the first Omani carbon project in 2012 in conjunction with the Ministry of Energy and Minerals with the successful registration of Oman’s first Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project.

The Certified Emission Reduction (CERs) credits issued by the project, alongside other Voluntary Emission Reduction (VERs) credits from projects that followed, have been successfully marketed to end-buyers – utilising OQT’s understanding of carbon project development, energy pricing and global markets.