KSA’s Acwa Power inks roadmap agreement with Kazakhstan for USD 1.5 bn wind farm

Good morning, wonderful people. The weekend is on the horizon, but first we have a couple of significant renewables stories to dig into.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY- Saudi renewables giant Acwa Power signed a roadmap agreement with Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry and Samruk-Kazyna, the country’s sovereign wealth fund, for the 1 GW wind energy and battery storage facility in the country.

^^ We have the details on this story and more in the news well, below.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- There’s no single climate story dominating international headlines this morning, but at least seven people were killed amid evacuation efforts by India and Pakistan as they brace for the “extremely severe” Biparjoy cyclone, which is expected to hit tomorrow. Four boys drowned in rough seas off western Mumbai, while three people were killed in a wall collapse in Kutch and Rajkot districts on the back of high waves in the Arabian Sea and heavy rains, according to Reuters. More than 20.5k people have been evacuated from coastal districts in India, while Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority said about 100k people will be evacuated by this morning. Concerns over the cyclone have led to the suspension of operations at two of India’s largest ports, Kandla and Mundra. Other ports have also suspended operations due to the cyclone. This year’s first severe cyclone for the two countries comes as the region continues to see climate-driven extreme weather conditions. The oil and container ports’ closures are also getting coverage from Bloomberg.

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 and will be the latest in our must-attend series of invitation-only, C-suite-level gatherings. Stay tuned for more information on the location.

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.

---

WATCH THIS SPACE #1- KSA’s carbon market company to establish carbon exchange and climate fund next year: Saudi Arabia’s Regional Voluntary Carbon Market Company (RVCMC) — established by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund the Public Investment Fund and the Saudi Tadawul Group — plans to launch a carbon trading exchange early next year, as well as establish a fund to invest in climate projects, company CEO Riham ElGizy told the National. ElGizy’s comment comes ahead of RVCMC’s hosting of the world’s largest voluntary carbon credit auction, which will be held today in Nairobi, Kenya. The auction will offer over 2 mn tons of carbon credits to over 15 companies. About 70% of carbon credits will come from renewable projects in Africa, especially Egypt, Mauritania, South Africa, Uganda, and Kenya, ElGizy told the news outlet.

REMEMBER- The UAE and Egypt are also working to establish a carbon exchange: The UAE Independent Climate Change Accelerators (UICCA) launched the UAE Carbon Alliance last week, in partnership with Singapore-based carbon trading exchange AirCarbon Exchange (ACX), tasked with establishing a framework for carbon markets. The alliance was launched a year after the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) said it was working with ACX on launching the world’s first fully regulated carbon trading exchange to regulate carbon credits and offsets as emission instruments. In April, Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) formed a committee to supervise and regulate the country’s soon-to-be launched voluntary carbon market.

---

WATCH THIS SPACE #2- US to push for multilateral bank reform at Paris summit next week: US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is heading to Paris next week to attend The Summit for a New Global Financial Pact in a bid to build the momentum on reforming global lending mechanisms to support developing countries address climate change, Bloomberg reported. The summit aims to tackle issues regarding reforming multilateral development banks, addressing debt overhangs, financing green infrastructure, and mobilizing financing for countries vulnerable to climate change, according to the business information service. The activities aim to develop a new finance “toolbox” and “pave the way towards a more balanced financial partnership between the north and south,” according to the summit website.

Yellen has been calling for reform for months: Yellen held a roundtable discussion on the sidelines of the World Bank Spring Meetings in April where she called for the evolution of the World Bank and other development lenders. In March, Yellen and Germany’s acting governor to the World Bank Svenja Schulze spoke about overhauling the World Bank’s financing structure ahead of COP28 to incorporate climate finance as a top priority, as the lender faces pressure for failing to address climate change.

ALSO- France is rallying support for a call to levy a carbon tax on the global shipping industry ahead of the summit, the Financial Times writes, citing a source with knowledge of the matter. Countries championing the levy want to channel a bulk of the funds toward climate mitigation efforts for climate-vulnerable countries, with another chunk earmarked to greenify developing countries’ shipping industries. If approved during the Paris summit, the levy would help raise in the medium term an annual USD 100 bn in climate financing for developing nations hard hit by climate change. France has already garnered support for the greenhouse gas levy from Japan, Kenya, Panama, Denmark, the Solomon and Marshall Islands, and Mexico, and is looking to build a “coalition of dozens of nations,” the FT notes.

---

WATCH THIS SPACE #3- Oman is on track to become the sixth-largest exporter of hydrogen globally, according to an International Energy Agency report (pdf). Meeting Oman’s target of producing 1 mn tons of low-carbon hydrogen annually by 2030 will require a 50 TWh increase in renewable power — which is more than the current size of the country’s entire electricity system. However, Oman’s abundant renewable energy resources, vast tracts of land, existing fossil fuel infrastructure that can be repurposed, and extensive expertise in handling and exporting LNG and ammonia should help the country reach its target. The report is the first of its kind to analyze the potential of renewable hydrogen in a producer economy.

REMEMBER- In March, Oman’s state-owned green hydrogen company Hydrom signed six binding term sheet agreements worth a combined USD 20 bn for the production of green hydrogen. The projects will span an estimated area of 1.5k sq km in Al Wusta and Dhofar. Up to 40 times more land has been identified for potential production in the long term, according to Offshore Energy.

---

DATA POINT- ‘Tis the year for green bonds: The global sales of green bonds had the busiest May in their history with new sales of the climate-friendly bonds racking up USD 62.3 bn, Bloomberg reported this week. The figure is slightly higher than the USD 60.3 bn raised in May of last year and the highest monthly total since October 2021. BNP Paribas SA — which is currently the market’s largest underwriter — sees this year as a record year for green bond sales. “Green bond issuance has seen significant increases this year, both in absolute volumes and as a percentage of total ESG labeled debt,” said Anne van Riel, BNP’s head of sustainable finance capital markets for the Americas.

An all-time high this year? BNP Paribas said earlier this year that it forecasts the global climate-friendly bond sales to climb up to c. USD 600 bn, outstripping 2021’s all-time high. Van Riel said she expects sovereigns that include Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Austria to lead the bonanza. “We expect green bonds to be the dominant label this year, representing more than 60% of total ESG volumes,” she said, adding that sales are “on track” to reach the USD 600 bn projection.

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-

Ireland will host the European Climate Change Adaptation Conference on Monday, 19 June to Wednesday, 21 June in Dublin. During the two-day conference, Europe’s leading climate researchers will present the latest climate action tools, decision-support platforms, and prototype climate adaptation services to 500 attendees. The audience includes adaptation experts, policy-makers, local authorities, private sector companies, investors, NGOs, and citizen and youth organizations.

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.

Thailand will host the second workshop on addressing loss and damage from 15-16 July in Bangkok. The workshop will see discussions on pathways to increasing funding for climate-induced loss and damage. The workshop is being held in preparation for the third meeting of the COP27 Transitional Committee in August. The committee is tasked with operationalizing the Loss and Damage Fund, to be approved during the fourth transitional meeting in October.

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

More details on Acwa Power’s 1 GW wind farm in Kazakhstan: Saudi renewables giant Acwa Power signed a roadmap agreement with Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry and the country’s sovereign wealth fund, Samruk-Kazyna, for the 1 GW wind energy and battery storage facility in the country, according to a statement. The roadmap paves the way for the construction of the project and comes months after Acwa Power and Kazakhstan signed the head of terms agreement for the project in March.

New details: The 1 GW wind project will cost USD 1.5 bn, making it the biggest Saudi investment in the Central Asian country’s power sector to date, the statement notes. The wind farm is slated for completion in 2027.

Central Asia is luring in the Gulf: The Central Asian region is currently the Saudi company’s second-largest market in terms of investments, the statement notes, as it looks to capitalize on emissions reduction and energy transition through wind turbines and battery storage projects. UAE renewables giant Masdar also signed a roadmap agreement with Kazakhstan earlier this week to develop a 1 GW wind farm in the southern part of the country with a battery energy storage systems (BESS) facility.

ALSO- Is more cooperation between KSA and Kazakhstan in the pipeline? Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman signed an MoU with Kazakhstan counterpart Almasadam Satkaliyev on energy cooperation between the two countries, according to a statement released earlier this week. The MoU aims to promote energy cooperation in oil, gas, electricity, petrochemicals, renewable energy, clean hydrogen, and energy storage and efficiency. The MoU also aims to bolster cooperation in the carbon circular economy and related technologies that aim to curb the impact of climate change.

Egypt publishes a green hydrogen production roadmap: The Egyptian government published its roadmap (pdf) for green hydrogen production yesterday, noting the challenges hindering production for local players and offering potential pathways for accelerating green fuel generation in the country. The report comes ahead of the government’s national strategy on green hydrogen production, which the state says should be revealed in the coming months. The report cites high production costs, a lack of demand for green fuels, inadequate infrastructure supporting green fuel generation, and a lack of localization on green hydrogen-associated technologies as obstacles that need to be overcome before the country can unlock its full green hydrogen production potential.

REMEMBER- The Egyptian government signed several framework agreements during COP27 with foreign companies to construct a number of green hydrogen and ammonia facilities in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone). The facilities would cost a combined USD 83 bn and collectively produce up to 7.6 mn tons of green ammonia and 2.7 mn tons of hydrogen a year. Egypt also approved incentives earlier in May to boost the country’s green hydrogen sector and lure in much-needed foreign exchange inflows.

Here are some of the recommendations: The Electricity and Renewable Energy Ministry and the General Authority for Investments and Free Zones (GAFI) would be tasked with increasing support and financing for the production of electricity from renewables “as soon as possible,” the report notes. Subsidies for electricity used for green hydrogen production — especially for electrolyzers — are also needed, with the Finance Ministry and the Electricity and Renewable Energy Ministry enacting regulations on this front. The government should also focus on localizing electrolyzer tech and provide grants and concessional loans to push down electrolyzer-associated manufacturing costs, the report notes, adding that the Foreign and the International Cooperation Ministries would work in the short term to establish a “one-stop shop” platform to secure funds and loans from countries to which Egypt would export green fuels.

REFRESHER- Egypt is getting an electrolyzer plant courtesy of the EBRD: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development agreed to provide the Fertiglobe-Scatec-OC-SFE ammonia plant with a USD 80 mn loan in November to build a 100 MW electrolyzer facility powered by renewable energy.

And there’s more on deck: The government — through GAFI and the Electricity and Renewable Energy Ministry — should look at providing renewables developers with tax exemptions and financial incentives to increase green hydrogen production, the report advises. The country’s Finance Ministry and the Trade and Industry Ministry should also in the short term apply carbon contracts for difference — which aim to reduce financial costs and risks of clean energy investments — to establish a standard for carbon pricing, and ultimately bring down hydrogen costs for green fuel consumers. Meanwhile, Egypt’s Environment Ministry should pass regulations requiring that manufacturers clearly label products that use green hydrogen in their production to incentivize hydrogen utilization.

And supply, decarbonization, and infrastructure targets are included: The government — represented by the Trade and Industry Ministry, GAFI, and the SCZone — should promote the use of green hydrogen locally by establishing “hydrogen valleys” where production sites are located in close proximity to ports and other areas where consumption is high, which should increase local demand, according to the report. The government should also set clear goals for green fuel consumption targets to support local production, enact a carbon tax to accelerate the transition to green fuels, and incentivize green fuel usage in hard-to-abate sectors including the fertilizer production and steel manufacturing.

Invasive pests set back the global economy some USD 220 bn on an annual basis, ruining some 40% of global crops each year on average, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Bark beetles and red palm weevils (RPWs) ravage plantations and eat through a variety of trees, delivering a dual blow to global food security and natural carbon offsetting. Their economic toll has been more widely felt over recent years as global warming hikes the metabolic rate of a host of invasive insects, driving them to reproduce faster, research by the World Economic Forum notes.

It’s costing MENA bns: Pests cost governments in our region some USD 2.5 bn back in 2021, estimated to grow at an annual CAGR of 5.2% between now and 2026, according to Market Data Forecast. Especially destructive is the RPW — the most lethal pest for date palm groves — which affects 40 different types of palm trees. Originally indigenous to southeast Asia, it has been gnawing USD mns off of MENA’s collective GDP since its arrival to regional shores in the mid-1980s, according to research by FAO. GCC-based farmers spend between USD 1.74-8.69 mn when just 1-5% of their plantations are infested with RPWs, respectively, FAO notes.

Why are RPWs hard to find in the first place? Female RPWs lay up to 300 eggs within the trunk of a palm tree, all of which hatch within two days at the earliest and five at the most. In the larvae stage, which lasts for 55 days, RPWs burrow deeper into the trunk to sustain themselves. They then enter the pupal stage of development and abandon their host for new prey, according to research by Ecomena.

AI can help: Abu Dhabi-based agritech startup Palmear pairs AI and big data with audio engineering to detect a host of pests including RPWs. Palmear’s team has developed an algorithm fed with intel on the sounds and behaviors of a variety of invasive pests and portable detectors — powered with AI and connected to a mobile app — to identify trees and pinpoint spots infested with red palm weevils and other lethal insects, CEO and founder Zeid Sinokrot tells Enterprise Climate. The team has also developed hardware to embed inside trees to extract the audio that enables pest detection.

How it works: Farmers can insert a needle-like plug extended through Palmear’s detection device to scan the tree for pests. Within 50 seconds, the AI-powered app loaded onto your smartphone recognizes if this tree is healthy or not. If it’s infested, the application glows in red, sends a notification, and tags the affected location on the map, before the RPWs abandon host trees to feed off new ones.

Big savings: Palmear’s offering enables farmers to zero in on which trees to treat and how much treatment and pesticides to apply, Sinokrot tells us, noting that in past years the tech has reduced pesticide use between 40-50% across several of their monitoring projects in and beyond MENA. “A very important aspect of our development phase was understanding how scalable our technology first would be in different regions. In order to answer that, we had to travel to different countries including the GCC, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia, to understand if the pest is behaving the same way in varying environments. We came to find that the pest actually behaves in a very similar manner all over the world, with the only notable differences being attributable to warmer temperatures increasing RPWs’ life-cycles in hotter climes,” Sinokrot explains.

And it’s boosting emissions offsetting: The tech keeps trees healthy and offsets some 8.4k tons of CO2 equivalent, Sinokrot says. For each palm tree saved from RPW infestation through early detection and effective treatment, some 120 kg of CO2 is mitigated.

MENA countries are jumping on the tech: Jordan’s Inspectors and Plant Protection Agency at the country’s Agriculture Ministry is currently using Palmear’s tech on a national scale, and the company is collaborating with several GCC countries in the pilot phase of testing, Sinokrot says.

Expansion plans: Palmear is in the middle of its seed stage fundraising round and is seeking interest from GCC, EU and American VC tech funds, Sinokrot told Enterprise. The company’s lead investor — an undisclosed MENA-based corporation — is one of the world’s leading agriculture companies. The company is also interested in listing carbon removal credits in voluntary carbon markets in MENA and beyond, Sinokrot adds.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars debuted its new luxury EV the Spectre in Bahrain last week, Trade Arabia reported. The EV is currently available for commission and will be available in the region by the end of the year, according to the news outlet.

The specs: The two-door, four-seater EV packs a 100 KWh battery with a range of 455 km and is supported by an electric motor in the front and another in the rear with over 580 horsepower, according to EV Database. The car has a fast charge time of 35 minutes via conventional DC electric charging, 10 driver assistance systems, and over 141k sender-receiver functions, according to the Rolls-Royce website.

What it will cost you: No price tag for our region has been disclosed, but the car retails for GBP 350k in the UK and EUR 400k in Germany and the Netherlands, according to EV Database.

A dream come true: “The electric car is perfectly noiseless and clean. There is no smell or vibration. They should become very useful when fixed charging stations can be arranged,” Rolls-Royce cofounder Charles Stewart Rolls said back in 1900, the company notes.

Caltech scientists confirm solar energy can be harvested from space: Six months after the launch of the Space Solar Power Demonstrator, scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) confirmed that a prototype solar power satellite can collect the sun's energy and transmit it to Earth, according to Caltech’s website. Wireless power transfer was displayed by MAPLE, one of three key technologies being tested by the demonstrator. “We received confirmation that MAPLE can transmit power successfully to receivers in space,” project leader Ali Hajimiri said, adding “we have also been able to program the array to direct its energy toward Earth, which we detected here at Caltech.”

Why go all the way to space? Sunlight is about 10 times more intense at the top of Earth's atmosphere than at the surface, according to the European Space Agency. Additionally, the transmitters would be able to transfer energy to stations across the planet whenever needed meaning energy “can be sent to remote regions and areas devastated by war or natural disaster,” Hajimiri said, adding that the wireless energy transfer could democratize energy, similar to how the “internet democratized access to information.”

The first green methanol-fueled container ship will pass through the region: Dutch-based chemical producer OCI Global is fueling the first ever green methanol-powered container ship — set to leave South Korea and pass through the Suez Canal — under a partnership with Denmark’s shipping and logistics giant AP Moller-Maersk, according to a press release (pdf). Under the partnership, OCI will be providing the carbon-neutral methanol to fuel the maiden voyage of Maersk’s first dual-fueled container ship on its inaugural trip to Northern Europe this summer, passing by the world’s busiest shipping routes.

What this means for Egypt: The high frequency of large containerships crossing the Suez Canal necessitates green methanol and other low carbon fuel bunkering to help decarbonize the shipping industry, OCI Global said. It represents a “unique opportunity for the Suez Canal to position itself as a Green Marine Bunkering Hub to proactively attract more Green Marine Traffic to the area and be ahead of nearby ports such as Fujairah, Jeddah and Morocco,” it added. The vessel’s passage through Port Said will also help kickstart demand for green hydrogen offtake and consolidate the country’s position as a green hydrogen hub.

REMEMBER- It was lights on for Egypt’s green hydrogen ambitions last year: Norway’s Scatec, the OCI / Adnoc joint venture Fertiglobe, Orascom Construction, and the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE) began commissioning the first phase of their 100 MW green hydrogen plant in Ain Sokhna in November. The plant will be powered by 260 MW of solar and wind energy and will produce around 15k tons of green hydrogen.

---

The Arab League and the Pacific Small Island Developing States issue Riyadh Declaration to expand cooperation, including in renewables: Members of the Arab League and the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) adopted the Riyadh Declaration to promote partnerships between the two blocs in various fields including renewable energy, the Saudi Press Agency reports. The two blocs will also cooperate in areas including environment protection, maritime preservation, biodiversity, meteorology, natural disaster responses among others. The groups agreed to take steps towards signing MoUs in these fields and intend to hold regular meetings on the margins of UN General Assembly meetings.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

• Abu Dhabi’s waste management company Tadweer has deployed the region’s first 100% electric waste collection truck in collaboration with Renault Trucks Middle East. (Tweet)
• UAE’s renewables developer Masdar has installed solar panels at the country’s first carbon mineralisation pilot project site by Adnoc in Fujairah. (Twitter)
• Chinese renewable energy group Envision will supply wind turbines to Egypt’s 500 MW Amunet wind project. (Statement)

Toyota reveals plans for its contribution to the EV market: Japan’s car manufacturing giant Toyota Motor has unveiled plans to introduce new technologies to improve the range, performance, and cost of EVs it plans to launch in the second half of the decade, Reuters reports. The company’s technology roadmap — which includes plans for battery development, factory redesigns, the streamlining of aerodynamics, and part replacements — is the automaker's “fullest disclosure” of its plan to compete in the EV market, where it has lagged behind competitors, according to the newswire. The roadmap was released a day before an annual shareholders meeting where governance and strategy — including the slow transition to battery EVs under former CEO Akio Toyoda — is expected to be evaluated.

Anything to land EV metals: Russia’s leading metal industry Artem Volynets’ blank check firm has agreed to acquire two Brazilian mines for USD 1 bn to secure precious metals for EV manufacturing, Bloomberg reported this week. London-listed ACG Acquisition is set to acquire the assets from private Appian Capital Advisory, with Volkswagen’s battery arm to back the acquisition with a USD 100 mn prepayment in return for future nickel deliveries. Other investors include Chrysler owner Stellantis, La Mancha Resource Capital and commodities trader Glencore which have all agreed to buy USD 100 mn of ACG stock. The transaction by ACG includes a nickel sulfide mine in Brazil’s Santa Rita and the Mineraçao Vale Verde copper mine in Serrote.

REMEMBER- Copper, cobalt, nickel, and lithium — critical minerals for EV and battery storage production — are expected to see a massive jump in demand in the coming years as countries roll out their plans for energy transition.

---

Anchor funding for Africa’s climate adaptation: African Finance Corporation (AFC) Capital Partners — the AFC asset management subsidiary — has secured USD 300 mn in anchor funding led by the UN-backed Green Climate Fund, AFC Capital’s CEO Ayaan Zeinab Adam told Bloomberg in an interview this week. The outfit is currently in talks with other investors with fundraising expected later to scale up to between USD 450 mn and USD 500 mn, Adam said. The South Korea-based Green Climate Fund is committing USD 240 mn in funds while AFC will pour in USD 60 mn, she revealed. When the initial target is met, fundraising would continue to reach a target between USD 750 mn and USD 1 bn.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

• Several US EV charging equipment makers, including Blink and ChargePoint, say they plan to launch chargers with Tesla’s charging connector. (Reuters)
• DHL Global Forwarding — the air and ocean freight forwarding arm of Germany’s DHL — signed an agreement with the UK’s IAG Cargo to source 11.5 mn tons of sustainable aviation fuels from the UK company this year. (Statement)