The board of directors of the Financial Services Institute, chaired by Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) head Dr. Islam Azzam, has issued a regulatory decision expanding the mandate of the Regional Centre for Sustainable Finance and Carbon Markets to act as a technical, research, and training hub.
The decision broadens the centre’s activities to align with rapid developments in climate funding, establishing a professional ecosystem for a low-carbon economy. The mandate includes training carbon experts, instructing on emissions reporting and climate disclosure standards, creating monitoring, reporting, and verification guides, and building capacity for carbon project developers.
“The decision enables the centre to offer an integrated knowledge package starting with research and knowledge production, followed by the preparation of guides and curricula, through training and capacity building, up to professional certificate programs and the accreditation of specialists, and the development of databases and a specialized observatory, providing a broad information base to support training, studies, and advisory services,” Azzam stated.
The FRA clarified that the centre’s designated role as a “house of expertise” will not infringe upon the regulatory, supervisory, or legislative competencies of the authority or the General Department for Sustainable Development. The regulatory text distinguishes between knowledge production and regulatory oversight, ensuring the centre does not replace competent authorities in issuing rules.
Under the new mandate, the centre is tasked with creating technical guides, organising conferences, developing professional performance indicators, supporting innovation in sustainable finance tools, and establishing a digital library alongside a sustainable finance observatory.
The decision also restructures the centre’s institutional framework by establishing an advisory board of experts. Members will be selected by the institute’s board of directors, based on the chairman’s nomination, for a renewable three-year term to provide guidance on the centre’s activities.
Additionally, the resolution stipulates that the centre’s executive director will hold the rank of head of a central administration. The director’s responsibilities include managing operations, proposing executive plans and budgets, overseeing periodic reports on responsible investment, and drafting cooperation agreements with external training and advisory bodies.
Azzam emphasised the importance of the centre’s forthcoming programmes, indicators, and professional certificates, noting they will contribute to achieving targeted progress in sustainable finance and carbon markets at both the national and regional levels.
