Accelerating Sustainable Finance: In Conversation with Alya AlZarouni at DIFC

The Fintech Times was on the ground at the 2nd Annual Future Sustainability Forum, hosted by the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) earlier this month, at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai.

We joined over 1000 sustainability aficionados, business leaders and government figures diving deep into everything from green technologies to sustainable agriculture. Building on the success of COP28, this year’s forum was all about ramping up climate action and pushing forward the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

It was an excellent opportunity to connect, collaborate and drive change alongside global leaders, all dedicated to forging a greener, more resilient tomorrow.

Mark Walker, editorial director, The Fintech Times, enjoyed the opportunity of chatting to Alya AlZarouni, chief operating officer at DIFC Authority, to discuss how DIFC is propelling the finance sector towards enhanced sustainability practices.

Transition finance

During our conversation, AlZarouni pinpointed a significant gap in sustainable finance: “The gap that we see today in sustainable finance is mainly around funding. Who is going to fund all of those projects?”

She detailed DIFC’s commitment to addressing this issue through supporting financial institutions and facilitating transition finance.

AlZarouni also touched on DIFC’s commitment to genuine sustainability practices, particularly in achieving net zero emissions.

“To be true is to really reduce emissions. We’re not planning to offset using carbon credits in any way,” she stressed, reflecting DIFC’s goal to implement real changes rather than relying on offsets.

Additionally, AlZarouni elaborated on how DIFC serves as a catalyst for bridging policy and practice, particularly through initiatives like the region’s first sustainable finance accelerator launched last year.

This initiative aims to channel substantial investment toward sustainability projects, significantly enhancing Dubai’s financial flow to sustainable ventures by 2030.

“This forum today,” Alya concluded, “will be an annual touchpoint to foster more transparency in the process and to share our knowledge and experience with others, helping to support the roadmap and journey towards sustainability.”

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