Masdar is eyeing a maiden green bond issuance up to USD 700 mn

Good morning, friends. It’s another busy start to the week here in the regional climate world with a couple of big stories from the UAE.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORIES- UAE renewables giant Masdar is looking to issue a USD 500-700 mn maiden green bond this month and has thrown its hat in the ring alongside Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power to develop the 1.8 GW sixth phase of Dubai’s mega scale Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.

^^ We have the details on these stories and more in the news well, below.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- A respite for Canada? Rain is expected to clear some of the smoke from wildfires in eastern Canada, offering some respite to the country after being rocked by its worst wildfire season on record, according to a government meteorologist. Federal meteorologist Gerald Cheng told journalists on Saturday that rain was expected starting yesterday in southern Ontario and southwestern Quebec, offering some relief from the smoke. The rain is expected to reach the more hard-hit northern parts of Quebec starting Tuesday, but the precipitation will be limited where the biggest fires are raging, Cheng said. Several nations have lent a hand to help Canada cope with the fires. Around 1.2k firefighters, including over 100 from France, are set to help put out blazes across Quebec today.

The wildfire continued to grab headlines over the weekend: Reuters | Bloomberg | New York Times | Wall Street Journal | Financial Times | BBC

---

The Enterprise Finance Forum is our flagship gathering — the one so many of you have been waiting for. The two-day event takes place this September. Stay tuned for more information on the location.

This flagship forum is the latest in our must-attend series of invitation-only, C-suite-level gatherings that allow senior members of our community to openly and frankly discuss critical issues in key sectors of the economy.

Day one is our Banking Forum, where we’ll dive deep into topics of interest to commercial and investment bankers, from an outlook on the 12 months to come in M&A, IPO, and debt capital markets to the national, regional, and global trends that are (re)shaping our industry.

Day two is all about Fintech and Non-Banking Financial Services. We’ll take a deep dive into everything from the magic of client acquisition to the prospects of consolidation and the coming of challenger banks.

WHY ATTEND? Our guests consistently tell us they attend for two reasons: (1) meaningful discussion of the issues that shape the future of their businesses and (2) an unparalleled chance to network with other senior members of the community.

** NEW: MORE NETWORKING TIME- Our agenda includes expanded networking time, including an expanded coffee break and a post-event networking room for you to interact with your peers and speak one-on-one with the team at Enterprise.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND? Everyone who plays a role in our industry, from commercial and investment bankers to asset managers, fintech founders, NBFS leaders, and professional services providers of all stripes. Attendees at our events are C-suite officers, business owners, and their direct reports; we also make an allocation for folks we think could be tomorrow’s founders and c-suite executives.

TAP OR CLICK HERE if you want to express interest in attending. We’ll be sending out the first batch of invitations just after the 30 June holiday.

Do you want to become a commercial partner? Email mtaalab@enterpriseadvisory.com.

STAY TUNED for more detail about our exciting agenda in the weeks to come.

---

ENTERPRISE IS LOOKING FOR SMART, TALENTED PEOPLE of all backgrounds to help us build some very cool new things. Enterprise — the essential morning read on all the important news shaping business and the economy in Egypt and the region — is looking for writers, reporters and editors to help us build out new publications. Today, we run four daily Egypt and MENA-focused publications, five weekly industry verticals, and a weekend lifestyle edition designed to make our readers feel just a bit smarter.

We have tons more in the pipeline — come help us build new publications. We offer the chance to work in a fast-paced newsroom on a broad range of topics and in a variety of formats. Our goal is simple: To create value for our growing community of >250k daily readers by telling stories that matter.

Journalists looking to explore business, finance and economic stories are welcome. So are recent journalism school graduates.

That said, we're looking for gifted story-tellers from all walks of life and across all professions, as long as they show a keen interest in learning to write about the stories, topics, businesses, and figures moving markets. Egyptian and foreign nationals alike are welcome to apply. So are job-switchers: If you’re an equities analyst tired of the rat race, we’re a great place to come work.

NEVER WORKED IN A NEWSROOM BEFORE? We have the Enterprise Business Writing Development Program. Whether you are a recent graduate, an industry vet, or looking to switch careers, the Enterprise Business Writing Development Program will give you the tools you need to tell the most important stories to our audience of C-suite officials, government ministers, diplomats, financiers, investors and entrepreneurs.

During the program you will learn:

• The key news stories and trends shaping business and the economy in Egypt and the region, across various sectors;
• Business and finance for non-finance people: Whether it's industry jargon or key concepts or simply how to read a balance sheet;
• How to construct an Enterprise story: From idea formulation down to the structure, style and tone of writing;
• How to develop sources that will give you the key insights needed to tell a complete story;
• How to communicate these stories with the confidence and language of an insider.

Not an internship program — a career: The three-month program will see full-time, paid participants take part in workshops and lectures from veteran business journalists, while also working on and filing stories that will run on any of our publications. Those who have successfully completed the program, will then be given long-term job offers.

Apply directly to jobs@enterprisemea.com and mention “writing development program” in your subject line.

---

OVER IN COPLAND- Is Al Jaber backtracking in the face of opposition? COP28 President-Designate Sultan Al Jaber said a phasedown of fossil fuels is inevitable at the UN climate meeting in Bonn last week in a turnaround from previous statements that the focus should be on scaling down emissions rather than the use of fossil fuels, Reuters reported on Thursday. Al Jaber’s comments were welcomed by climate researchers, who stressed that Al Jaber still needs to set a clear timeline for a full phase-out of fossil fuels, the newswire reports.

But a timeline may be hard to reach: Countries participating in COP28 have not yet reached a consensus on whether a phaseout of fossil fuels should be on the agenda of the upcoming climate talks this year, COP28 Director-General Majid Al Suwaidi said, The Guardian reported last week. Fossil fuels will form a “key” part of the discussion at the next climate conference, but whether a phaseout will be on the official agenda is not yet clear, Al Suwaidi said.

OTHER COP STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

• Moscow is reportedly looking to block EU member Bulgaria’s bid to host the climate conference in 2024, reportedly saying that EU countries do not have the capacity to serve as effective brokers of global climate negotiations. Azerbaijan and Armenia have also submitted bids to host COP29. (Reuters)
• The UAE has selected 100 youth delegates — 70 of whom are under 35 and 74 are from climate vulnerable countries, including island nations and MENA states — to ensure young voices are represented at COP28. (The National)

---

WATCH THIS SPACE #1- The IFC is in Morocco today: IFC Regional Vice President for Africa Sergio Pimenta is landing in Morocco today for a two-day visit to promote the institution's commitment to the country’s economic development, Morocco World News reported on Friday, citing an IFC statement. Pimenta is set to highlight the IFC’s priorities and projects in the lead-up to the World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings in Marrakech in October. He will meet with key government officials and prominent business heads from the private sector, including fertilizer giant OCP Group.

The IFC ♥ ️Morocco: The IFC approved earlier this year a green loan worth EUR 100 mn to Moroccan state-owned fertilizer and phosphate giant OCP Group to help finance the development of four solar plants yielding 202 MW. It also partnered recently with Spain’s Iberdrola to support the clean energy transition and decarbonization in developing economies, including Morocco. As part of the agreement, the two organizations will explore a green loan for the development of Iberdrola’s renewable energy, offshore wind power, and green hydrogen projects located in emerging countries, including Morocco.

---

WATCH THIS SPACE #2- Acwa Power and China are strengthening partnership: Saudi renewables giant Acwa Power plans to allocate 30-35% of its total investments to Chinese partnerships over the next seven years, Acwa Power Vice Chairman and Managing Director Raad Al Saady told Al Arabiya TV in an interview (watch, runtime: 6:58). Al Saady says there is a Chinese appetite for “energy transition projects, including desalination projects using renewable energy and green hydrogen projects,” adding that Acwa Power has existing renewable and green hydrogen partnerships with China in several Central Asian and MENA countries, including Egypt.

WATCH THIS SPACE #3- Could the EU see a breakthrough on renewables targets this week? The European Commission is again looking to approve draft legislation on its 2030 renewables targets this Wednesday in the hopes of scaling up their renewables, Reuters reported on Saturday, citing an agenda of the upcoming meeting. EU policymakers have been postponing a vote on raising the share of renewables following months of French opposition to the law as the country attempts to rally support for nuclear’s inclusion under the EU policies to counter German, Spanish, and other EU opposition to nuclear’s incorporation.

What’s holding things up? France says it needs to maintain its current nuclear capacity amid a forecasted surge in power demand by 2035. The new EU legislation should promote low-carbon hydrogen — including nuclear-derived hydrogen, France argues.

---

WATCH THIS SPACE #4- An EU strategy for CCS in the works? The European Commission is working on a strategy aimed at stepping up investments in capturing and storing carbon dioxide emissions, Reuters reported on Friday. It said that infrastructure for the technology is not advancing enough due the high costs associated with developing storage sites. The strategy could include 2040 and 2050 targets for carbon dioxide storage infrastructure or EU-wide standards on CO2 quality and access to carbon capture infrastructure, according to the newswire.

It’s been a bumpy road for CCS in Europe: Carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects are still nascent in Europe, yet have stirred a wave of controversy in countries like Germany, where states have shut off efforts to launch projects, according to the newswire. Several campaign groups also argue that the technology could be used to expand the use of coal power plans and heavy-polluting industries. However, the technology has now been receiving attention as member countries outline how to achieve net zero emissions, with CO2 removals growing necessary to offset remaining emissions in industries that cannot have their CO2 output curbed to zero such as aviation and agriculture.

---

DATA POINT- USD 1.8 tn in energy efficiency investments are needed to stay under the 1.5°C warming threshold by 2030, according to a recent report by the International Energy Agency (IEA). The report recognizes global efforts on the energy efficiency front and notes that the energy efficiency sector in 2022 was twice as improved compared to the average recorded over the previous five years. While energy efficiency investments recorded a 15% y-o-y increase in 2022, partly on the back of government regulations promoting energy conservation, these investments are only projected to grow by a “concerning” 4% in 2023, Al Arabiya quotes IEA’s chief of energy efficiency Brian Motherway as saying at a press conference last week.

Get Enterprise Climate

***

YOU’RE READING ENTERPRISE CLIMATE, the essential MENA publication for senior execs who care about the world’s most important industry. We’re out Monday through Thursday by 5am Cairo / 5am Riyadh / 6am UAE.

EXPLORE MORE OF ENTERPRISE ON THE WEB — tap or click here to read EnterpriseAM, EnterprisePM, and The Weekend Edition on our powerful new website packed with reader-friendly features.

Were you forwarded this email? Get your own subscription without charge here or reach out to us on climate@enterprisemea.com with comments, suggestions and story tips.
***

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Saudi Arabia will host Schneider Electric’s Innovation Summit Saudi Arabia tomorrow and Wednesday in Riyadh. The agenda includes sessions on how digitization can support the decarbonization of oil and gas and scaling up hydrogen, as well as discussions in energy and sustainability in food and beverage, green ports, new technologies in EVs and charging, and digitization of the green sector.

The UAE will host The Arab Green Summit tomorrow and Wednesday in Dubai. The two-day summit will bring together industry players and experts for conversations on climate change and sustainability and solutions for concurrent climate-related issues in the region. Key themes to be addressed during the summit include industry decarbonization, renewable and clean energy potential and implementation, sustainable building and construction and others.

Morocco will host the Bloomberg New Economy Gateway Africa tomorrow and Wednesday in Marrakech. The event will bring together stakeholders from the private and public sector to discuss the world’s most pressing topics and assess potential solutions. Those include the impact of a decelerating global economy, spiking food and energy prices, supply-chain shocks and risks of distress among sovereign borrowers.

France will host The Summit for a New Global Financial Pact on Thursday, 22 June to Friday, 23 June in Paris. The two-day summit will bring together heads of states and heads of multilateral development banks, international organizations, the private sector and international NGOs to shape a new finance “toolbox” and “pave the way towards a more balanced financial partnership between the north and south.” It will also see new agreements in a bid to relieve debt distress and allow countries to access additional financing to invest in sustainable development and slash emissions.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events and news triggers.

UAE renewables giant Masdar is looking to issue a USD 500-700 mn maiden green bond this month, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing comments by Masdar CEO Mohamed Al Ramahi. Details on advisors or a solid timeline have not been disclosed, but the company is eyeing the US market for the issuance, according to Bloomberg.

Big plans: Masdar has assets in upward of 40 countries with a combined renewables capacity of 15 GW and USD 20 bn in investments — aiming to reach 100 GW capacity by 2030. “You can’t achieve that target with just one approach to market,” Al Ramahi said, adding that Masdar is actively pursuing several agreements. The US is a top priority for investment, while Masdar hasn’t yet found good potential projects in China, Bloomberg quotes Al Ramahi as saying at a presser in his most recent visit to Kazakhstan.

Masdar already has a footing in the US: Back in 2020, Masdar and EDF Renewables North America signed an agreement to jointly co-develop eight US-based renewables plants that would have a combined 1.6 GW production volume. These include three wind farms in Nebraska yielding a combined 815 MW, and five solar farms, including a 128 MW solar plant in which Masdar acquired a 50% stake in April, which collectively generate some 690 MW of clean energy. All of the renewables ventures in which Masdar is partnering with EDF in the US are already operational.

The bidding is on for sixth phase of Al Maktoum solar park: UAE’s Masdar and Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power have submitted bids to develop the 1.8 GW sixth phase of Dubai’s mega scale Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, according to a statement (pdf) released on Thursday. The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) will announce its selection this quarter, with the phase scheduled to become operational in stages between 4Q 2024 and 2026. No financial details on the cost of building the sixth phase were disclosed.

Masdar has submitted the lowest bid for selling solar energy: Masdar has broken records by submitting the lowest bid to sell the energy generated by the sixth phase, coming in at USD 0.0162 per kWh, Dewa CEO Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer said in the statement. Acwa Power’s bid was not disclosed.

This would be Masdar’s second time securing a bid: A Masdar-led consortium developed the 800 MW third phase of the solar park in partnership with France's EDF, selling at a price of USD 0.0299 per kWh, the lowest price secured by Dewa at the time, according to their website.

Acwa Power built three phases already: The 200 MW second phase was developed by Acwa power in partnership with Spain’s TSK, selling the energy generated at a USD 0.056 per kWh, according to Dewa’s website.The 950 MW fourth phase combined both CSP and PV technologies, with the former selling at USD 0.024 per kWh and the latter at USD 0.073 per kWh. The 900 MW fifth phase was developed by a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power, in partnership with the Gulf Investment Corporation at a cost of USD 562 mn. Dewa is buying the solar energy generated at a price of USD 0.017 per kWh.

Background: The solar park is the world’s largest single-site solar park using the IPP model with a planned production capacity of 5 GW by 2030. Currently, 2.3 GW of the intended capacity is complete and operational with a further 533 MW still under construction, according to the statement. The total project cost is estimated at AED 50 bn (USD 13.6 bn), according to Dewa’s website.

Tunisia waste management facility is now live: Elec’Recyclage Tunisie has inaugurated its non-hazardous industrial waste recycling facility in a ceremony attended by representatives from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Union, according to a statement released on Thursday.

Who is funding what: The recycling company has received support from the EBRD and EU, with the EBRD providing a loan of up to EUR 1.1 mn to fund the construction of an industrial building in Utique in 2019. It has also received an EU grant of EUR 85k for technical assistance, according to the statement. The funds were used to invest in new equipment to boost its recycling capacity, with added facilities helping the company raise its thermal treatment capacity to 2k metric tons/month from a previous 700 metric tons/month.

Big benefits: The facility has been able to boost the volume of recycled materials it sells by 40%, up to 8.7k metric tons/year expected by the end of the year from 6.2k tons per year in 2017, according to the statement. It is expected to indirectly slash CO2 emissions by 2.6k tons a year by the end of 2023.

About the company: Elec’Recyclage — established in 2008 — specializes in industrial waste recycling, providing waste-handling solutions to over 100 companies in the country, according to EBRD. It also sells sorted waste products to foreign markets for further processing.

A generous capital increase for Ma’aden: Saudi mining company Ma’aden is set to increase its share capital by SAR 12.3 bn (c.USD 3.2 bn) as it looks to bolster its capital base for future growth plans, according to a disclosure to Tawadul on Thursday.

What we know: Ma’aden will increase its capital by 50% to SAR 36.9 bn from SAR 24.6 bn, the disclosure showed. The increase will be executed through the company’s statutory reserve and retained earnings, it added. It will also issue one bonus share for every two owned by shareholders.

Could the future for Ma’aden be blue ammonia? Ma’aden signed an agreement with Indian agricultural chemicals maker Coromandel International Ltd last month for the supply of low-carbon blue ammonia. Its shipment to India followed its first shipments of low-carbon blue ammonia to Chinese petrochemical producer Shenghong Petrochemicals in May as part of an agreement to supply 25k tons of ammonia, which is in line with the company’s goal of becoming a green leader globally. The company has shipped 138k tons of blue ammonia products to countries including Korea, China, Japan, India, Thailand, and the EU since last year.

The news follows an interesting 1Q: Ma’aden saw its net income plunge 81% y-o-y in 1Q 2023 to SAR 419.4 mn on the back of higher costs for raw materials and lower commodity prices. Despite the disappointing results, it was able to seal a 50/50 JV with US mineral development company Ivanhoe Electric Inc. for the exploration of copper, nickel, gold, silver, and other electric metal. Ma’aden’s Mansourah-Massarah commissioning activities are still on track with an initial production date of 2H 2023. The gold project located in the central region of the country is set to be the company’s largest gold project to date with an average production of 250k ounces per annum of gold.

The Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) says it will pull the trigger on its maiden USD 500 mn five-year unsecured green bond issuance on Wednesday, according to a disclosure to the Dubai Financial Market on Thursday. The green bond is expected to have an initial price guidance of c.140 basis points (bps) above US Treasuries, tightened from the initially reported 175 bps, according to a document seen by Reuters.

Where’s the money going? Proceeds will finance projects under the bank’s Sustainable Financing Framework including renewables, green buildings, pollution mitigation, and clean transport projects, according to the newswire.

Advisors: Lead managers on the debt transaction include Standard Chartered, First Abu Dhabi, Emirates NBD Capital, JPMorgan, and Natixis, with the latter serving as the only ESG coordinator on the issuance, according to Reuters.

The UAE is incentivizing green debt issuances: The UAE said it would be axing registration fees for firms issuing green debt instruments — including sukuk and traditional climate-aligned bonds — in 2023 to support funding for climate-friendly projects last week.

REMEMBER- Green bond and green sukuk issuances are piquing the interest of financial institutions in our neck of the woods: First Abu Dhabi Bank’s third green debt issuance of USD 600 mn earlier this month was the first sale by a MENA financial institution in a USD-denominated market in 2023. Earlier in April, the UAE’s state-owned Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) raised a total of USD 1.5 bn in a dual-tranche green bond issuance that was almost 10x oversubscribed under the company’s new Green Finance Framework.

Oman, Belgium talk renewables: Oman’s Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi affirmed during a meeting with Belgian counterpart Hadja Lahbib the importance of continuously and rapidly working towards common interests in renewable energy and green hydrogen projects, Oman News Agency reported on Friday.

REMEMBER- Oman and Belgium have been stepping up cooperation: Oman’s Energy and Minerals Ministry and the Belgian Energy Ministry signed an agreement for a Green Energy Certificate pilot project for the sultanate’s ambitious green hydrogen Hyport Duqm project last month. The agreement aims to assess whether green hydrogen production in Oman adheres to EU requirements, unlocking Oman’s potential to export green hydrogen projects to Europe in the future.

---

The UK and KSA ramp up renewable energy cooperation: Potential partnerships in clean energy projects were among the potential investments discussed between Saudi Arabia and the UK at a bilateral trade forum held in London, the Saudi Press Agency reported last week. Saudi Commerce Minister Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi and UK Investment Minister Dominic Johnson attended the forum alongside 300 leading corporate representatives. The forum was organized by the Saudi British Joint Business Council, KSA’s National Competitiveness Center, and Council of Saudi Chambers.

More in the pipeline: At a meeting of the KSA-UK Strategic Partnership Council last Wednesday, co-chairs Al Qasabi and UK Industry Minister Hon Grant Shapps agreed to “establish centers of excellence on clean energy and critical minerals; share and develop best practice on new technologies including hydrogen, carbon capture and decarbonisation; and expand commercial partnerships in clean energy, outer space, advanced manufacturing and mining,” according to a UK government statement.

IN OTHER CLIMATE DIPLO NEWS-

• UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed potential collaboration in renewable energy, transport, and logistics, and manufacturing. (Wam)

Smaller creatures more likely to survive a warming planet: Species that are smaller, more widespread, and less complex — such as deer mice or acorn ants — have a better chance of surviving the Earth’s warming climate, National Geographic explains, citing a number of studies. One reason is the ability to develop mutations to help them survive a rapidly warming environment due to small species with larger populations having “greater genetic variation for tinkering,” given they can reproduce much faster than larger species. For example, bacteria can reproduce six times a day, while a blue whale can take up to 15 years to reproduce.

But not all can take the heat when given the option: Lizards living on the edges of Caribbean forests — with the option to move between warmer and cooler spots — did not bother changing their metabolism when temperatures increased, diminishing their future generations’ ability to do so, a study by biology professor at Yale University in Connecticut Martha Muñoz and colleagues found. On the other hand, lizards living deeper in the forest increased their baseline heat tolerance and were better able to survive. However, Muñoz warns that evolutionary changes “will not be nearly quick enough to keep up with the rate of our planet’s warming.”

Solar-powered irrigation for the UAE: UAE food security company Silal — part of Abu Dhabi investment company ADQ’s portfolio — signed a partnership agreement with Netherlands-based solar thermal desalination firm Desolenator to boost solar-powered irrigation, Wam reported on Saturday. The pilot project is funded by an AED 100 mn (c. USD 27 mn) research and development grant by ADQ, and aims to provide sustainable watering alternatives as well as cooling options for plantations in greenhouse settings, the news agency notes.

What is solar thermal desalination? The process involves the heating of seawater using energy sourced from solar panels in a bid to vaporize salts and transform it into potable water suitable for drinking and irrigation purposes, according to research published in ScienceDirect.

---

The last phase of UAE’s Barakah nuclear plant is coming online: The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) has begun operational readiness procedures for the fourth and final unit of Abu Dhabi’s Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant, Wam reported on Thursday. The testing phase is currently underway to showcase the unit’s readiness before receiving the licensing greenlight from the UAE’s Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation to kick off operations. An expected timeline on the final leg of the project’s launch is not disclosed. The fourth phase is set to up the plant’s full production volume to 5.6 GW of clean energy once fully operational — some 25% of the UAE’s total energy needs. The third unit added 1.4 GW to the UAE grid back in February.

UAE moves forward on developing a carbon market: UAE Independent Climate Change Accelerators (UICCA) has established the UAE Carbon Alliance in a bid to develop standards and frameworks for carbon financing, Wam reported last week. The coalition will bring together carbon credit buyers and sellers, climate project developers, financial institutions, corporations, exchanges, and brokers in the UAE to increase knowledge about carbon markets and establish a framework for carbon markets. The alliance was launched in partnership with Singapore-based carbon trading exchange AirCarbon Exchange (ACX), First Abu Dhabi Bank, Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company, and the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa).

REMEMBER- ACX said it was working with Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) on launching the world’s first fully regulated carbon trading exchange to regulate carbon credits and offsets as emission instruments, according to a statement released in March 2022. Last year, Mubadala acquired an undisclosed stake of ACX.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

• Oman is planning to auction seven new mining areas in the country which have a potential to include copper — critical to wind turbine and solar panel manufacturing — as well as chrome and other minerals. (Zawya)
• KSA’s Industry and Minerals Ministry signed a regulatory agreement establishing a mechanism for granting mining licenses and monitoring mining activities in two of the country’s reserves. (Saudi Press Agency)
• The UAE Food Bank plans to reduce food waste by 30% by 2027. (Statement)
• The UAE Energy and Infrastructure Ministry has signed an MoU with Etihad Water and Electricity to increase the number of EV charging stations in the Northern Emirates. (Twitter)

Ecuador’s record breaking debt-for-nature swap is creating a buzz: The recent completion of Ecuador’s debt-for-nature swap — which will see USD 1.1 bn of the country’s debt partially forgiven in exchange for conserving its Galapagos Islands — is “creating a clamor” among other nature-rich indebted countries, Reuters reports. Ecuador’s swap, which Credit Suisse banker Ramzi Issa describes as the “holy grail for eco-finance experts,” is the largest transaction of its kind to date. Surpassing the USD 1 bn barrier and the environmental commitments that were reached have “fundamentally changed what is possible,” the newswire said.

In a nutshell: A debt-for-nature swap is where developing nations see a portion of their foreign debt forgiven under a restructured agreement on the condition that they invest some of the savings in local conservation measures. Proponents of the mechanism laud its scalability, saying it effectively uses public funds to de-risk private investment and could plug the multi-USD tn financing gap for nature protection, adaptation, and decarbonization. Critics, on the other hand, say the loan terms can be unclear and transaction costs are high. The extra costs include insurance premiums for companies involved in the agreement, loan interest, and an array of other financing costs.

REMEMBER – Some USD 2 tn of developing country debt could be eligible for restructuring under debt-for-nature swaps. Also, former president of the Maldives Mohamad Nasheed recently said that 20 of the countries most vulnerable to climate change may stop payments on their collective debt of USD 685 bn, calling instead for a debt-for-nature swap.

---

Indonesia, Malaysia want to stop the palm oil hate: Indonesian President Joko Widodo has urged stronger collaboration with Malaysia to face what he described as “discrimination” against the world’s top two palm oil producers, as concerns grow over an EU law restricting imports that are linked to deforestation, Reuters reported on Thursday. “We need to strengthen this collaboration. We don't want commodities produced by Malaysia and Indonesia to be discriminated against in other countries,” he said following a meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. They both pledged to work closely to address the EU’s “highly detrimental discriminatory measures against palm oil.”

Friend or foe? Palm oil is used in almost everything from pizza to toothpaste and lipstick, but it is seen as a major driver of deforestation in some of the planet’s most biodiverse forests, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Deforestation, along with the destruction of carbon rich peat soils, releases mns of tons of carbon emissions into the atmosphere, according to the WWF. Yet experts believe that the size of deforestation caused by the industry has been in decline annually in Indonesia, hitting a 22-year low in 2021, according to Vox.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

• The UK government is preparing a new strategy to combat climate-driven impacts as forecasts warn the country has a 45% chance of facing another record-breaking hot summer this year. (The Guardian)
• Chinese EV manufacturer BYD is taking the lead in emerging clean-car markets around the world, including Brazil and Thailand. BYD recently entered Mexico, Spain, and the UK, and will launch in Italy this month. (Bloomberg)
• Nigeria’s second largest cement producer BUA Cement has received a USD 500 mn loan from the IFC and other lenders to develop two new energy-efficient cement production lines. (Statement)
• Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has dropped by c.10% in May as authorities bolster efforts to end deforestation. (Reuters)

Turbulent times ahead: Warmer air from increased global CO2 emissions is creating bumpier flights around the world, The Guardian reports, citing new research from the University of Reading. The study found that while the US and north Atlantic had experienced the largest increases in turbulence — with severe turbulence in the North Atlantic going up by 55% since 1979 — other busy flight routes over Europe, the Middle East, and the south Atlantic have also recorded significant increases. The research marks the first evidence of increased turbulence stemming from climate change.

More turbulence = more degradation: The study found that every minute spent fighting through turbulence increases degradation of an aircraft. The US aviation industry alone loses USD 150 mn to USD 500 mn annually from increased turbulence, The Guardian said, citing the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Climate change is affecting air travel in other ways: Faster jet streams — the narrow bands of strong wind in the upper levels of the atmosphere — in the Atlantic are increasing travel times due to winds slowing down the plane. At the same time, rising temperatures are reducing the weight aircrafts can carry due to the hot air’s lower density which requires the plane to travel faster to take off within the limits of the runway’s length.