Voluntary carbon markets alone will not be sufficient to achieve climate policy goals. Reducing GHG emissions fast enough to achieve net zero targets by 2050 will also require compliance carbon markets (CCMs). CCMs are marketplaces through which regulated entities trade emissions permits (allowances) or emissions reductions or removals (offsets) to meet regulatory targets and in the process establish a carbon price. While the UAE is establishing the necessary ecosystem for a possible CCM to be developed in the future, drawing from the rich experience of other jurisdictions, we can learn how to design better carbon markets to use carbon pricing to achieve climate goals.