Egypt’s CIB will receive USD 100 mn from IFC to boost climate financing

Good morning, nice people. We have a busy morning to dive into with climate updates across the region and in all sectors of the industry.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORIES- Egypt’s largest private lender CIB will receive a USD 100 mn loan from the World Bank’s private investment arm the International Finance Corporation to help finance the bank’s climate finance business and Taqa Arabia began trading on Egypt’s bourse yesterday after getting the green light from the EGX’s listing committee.

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

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- A shot in the arm for shipping industry emission cuts: Member countries of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) gave the green light to a revised greenhouse gas strategy that outlines a net zero emissions goal for the shipping industry by mid century. They agreed following talks by the UN shipping agency over last week to reach net zero “by or around, i.e., close to 2050, taking into account different national circumstances.” They also approved “indicative checkpoints” to help lower total annual greenhouse gas emissions from the global shipping industry by at least 20% while aiming for 30% by 2030 compared with 2008 levels. They also seek reducing such emissions by at least 70%, while striving for 80% by 2040.

No sign of the contentious levy: A proposed global levy on shipping emissions was not included in the IMO strategy’s text, which did say that several “GHG reduction measures” that include “an economic element” should be finalized and approved by 2025.

The story got widespread coverage over the weekend: Reuters | Bloomberg | The Guardian | The Financial Times | The Associated Press | CNN | The Washington Post | The New York Times

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OVER IN COPLAND- COP28’s Al Jaber wants Big Oil to up its game: COP28 President-Designate Sultan Al Jaber has urged the world’s oil and gas industry to “up its game” towards clean energy solutions, Wam reported on Thursday. During the OPEC International Seminar in Vienna, he reiterated an earlier call for the industry to “urgently decarbonise its operations and take collective action to eliminate operational emissions” through three imperatives. These are achieving net-zero by 2050, advancing pledges to phase out methane emissions, and monitoring progress along the plan. “Today I would like to add a fourth imperative … allocating capital at scale to clean energy solutions, because the energy system of the future will not build itself,” Al Jaber said.

Doubling down on fossil fuel phaseout comments: “The phase down of fossil fuels is inevitable. It is in fact essential. But it cannot be irresponsible,” Al Jaber told delegates, stressing that the “speed of the transition will be driven by how quickly we phase up zero carbon alternatives.”

IN OTHER COP28 NEWS- Al Jaber also met with Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Climate Change and Environment Sherry Rehman in Pakistan to discuss the importance of a “global reset that enhances support for developing countries on the frontline of climate change” during the upcoming summit, COP28 said on Thursday.

The UAE could be on the lookout for investments in Pakistan’s renewables: The UAE is interested in investment opportunities in Pakistan's renewable energy sector, Pakistani daily Business Recorder reported, citing statements by Al Jaber during his meeting with Rehman. “Whether it is in the conventional energy or in the alternative energy space, we are very keen to work with Pakistan in the renewable energy sector, and apply scale and capital in advancing renewable energy assets,” he said.

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WATCH THIS SPACE #1- Banks not following EU’s lead in nuclear green energy label: None of the world’s top 30 banks have included nuclear energy in their criteria for issuing green or sustainability-linked bonds, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing analysis by Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy. According to the analysis, 17 banks have explicitly kept out nuclear energy from their green financing frameworks, 12 do not mention nuclear energy, and one does not have a framework.

The shunning of nuclear energy comes despite the EU deciding last year to add nuclear power plants to the list of investments that are considered green. The report comes days after a European Parliament committee backed the bloc’s renewable energy targets, yet criticized last-minute tweaks granting France and other nations exceptions regarding the recognition of nuclear energy. The law, which would still require full approval from the EU Parliament and EU countries, was deadlocked for weeks due to a pushback from France and others demanding carve-outs for non-renewable fuels.

And ESG reporting rules need tightening: Some 100 European asset managers are urging the EU to revise planned ESG reporting rules amid concerns that the current proposal doesn’t provide necessary data for filled in decisions, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. The European Sustainable Investment Forum (Eurosif) said the current proposal leaves companies and advisers “to determine what is, and isn’t, material to report.” Such rules could lead to a decline in the data that investors get, it argued. Instead, they want the EC to oblige companies to report several ESG indicators including climate data, so investors can avoid greenwashing. Once consultation over the planned ESG reporting rules is submitted, the proposal makes its way to the European Parliament and then the EU Council. Implementation is set for 2024 with first corporate reports due in 2025.

IN EU EMISSIONS NEWS- The European Commission (EC) is set to propose measures aimed at lowering emissions from freight transport tomorrow, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing a draft document it has seen. The measures include reducing red tape, coordinating international rail traffic, and using digital technologies. “Unnecessary regulatory obstacles continue to undermine the efficiency of European freight, limiting the scope for emissions reductions,” the document read. Freight transport accounts for over 30% of carbon dioxide emissions in the transportation sector, according to the document. The sector is expected to grow by 25% by the end of the decade from 2015 levels and 50% by 2050.

And aluminum producers have their feathers ruffled: EU aluminum producers are worried that an escape clause in the EU’s carbon border tax could help heavily polluting exporters like China sidestep the rules and export cheap and emissions heavy aluminum, The Financial Times reports. Under the proposed rules, a levy is imposed on the amount of carbon emissions produced during the manufacture of goods imported into the EU but doesn’t impose a ban on scraps of the metal being sold as a zero carbon product, even if they’re originally produced using coal or other fossil fuels. This loophole could encourage non-EU producers to import scrap to Europe after remelting, aluminum companies including Norsk Hydro and Speira warned. “This loophole enables the widespread greenwashing of imported aluminum products and undermines the effectiveness of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism in preventing carbon leakage,” Norsk Hydro’s chief executive Hilde Merete Aasheim said.

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WATCH THIS SPACE #2- Some progress for Egypt-KSA electricity interconnector: Construction on the USD 1.8 bn Egypt-Saudi electricity interconnection project is 20% complete, Egypt’s Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker told Youm7 last week, adding that the 3 GW project will begin operation in 2025. The first 1.5 GW phase will go live in June 2025, followed by the second and final 1.5 GW phase in November of the same year.

About the project: The Egypt-Saudi electricity interconnection project will be home to HVDC conversion stations including two stations in Saudi Arabia’s Medina and Tabuk and another in Badr city, east of Cairo. It will flow power along a 1.35k km route through overhead power lines and a 22 km subsea cable in the Red Sea.

IN OTHER KSA NEWS- Saudi oil giant Aramco has reconfirmed plans to produce 11 mn tons of blue hydrogen annually by 2030, Aramco CEO Amin Al Nasser told Sky News Arabia last week, dispelling earlier reports that the company was backtracking on its planned hydrogen investments. The clean energy source would not be a near-term cost-effective power source, however, according to Nasser, who said in May that blue hydrogen would cost the equivalent of USD 250 a barrel of oil. Inadequate hydrogen production infrastructure and ammonia cracking technologies also render hydrogen a more long-term energy source, Nasser told Sky News.

Aramco had big blue plans: The company said it was earmarking “multiple bns of USD” in a bid to establish itself as a major blue hydrogen exporter last November. In March, the company signed a cooperation agreement with British chemicals company Linde to jointly develop ammonia cracking technology and establish a demonstration facility in northern Germany. The company is also one of several energy firms mulling the establishment of a large-scale ammonia cracking plant at the Port of Rotterdam. In March, the Saudi oil giant and Sabic Agri-Nutrients shipped 25k tons of low-carbon blue ammonia to South Korea’s Lotte Fine Chemical.

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WATCH THIS SPACE #3- The first phase of Dubai’s mega WtE plant is coming online soon: The first two waste-to-energy (WtE) production lines of the newly inaugurated AED 4 bn (c. USD 1.1bn) 220 MW Dubai Waste Management Centre will kick off operations next month, according to a statement released last week. The two production lines are expected to generate some 80 MWh of clean energy by processing 2k tons of solid waste daily, according to an earlier statement. The 400k sqm plant — set to become fully operational by 1Q 2024 — will process and convert 2 mn tons of waste annually, providing clean electricity to power some 135k residential units. Once it comes online, HZI and BESIX will form a joint venture to operate and maintain the project under a 35-year agreement with Dubai Municipality, the statement notes.

WATCH THIS SPACE #4- Infinity Power is eyeing Kenyan green energy: Infinity Power — a JV between the UAE’s Masdar and Egyptian renewables player Infinity — is seeking local partners in Kenya’s green energy sector to capitalize on the African country’s renewable energy potential, Deputy CEO Ahmed Mulla told Capital Business in an interview last week. “We plan to grow and growth is not driven by our ambitions to be the largest but also to serve. We are here to serve the continent. We are here to serve the people of Kenya. We can only do that with the support of the government,” Mulla said, without providing details on the kind of partnership that Infinity Power is seeking. He said that the East African country is one of the most attractive markets in Africa to set up green energy reserves, adding that his company is on the lookout for local companies with a strong outlook and track record of delivery. Mulla’s statements came days before a Kenyan delegation led by Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry Moses Kuria visited Masdar HQ for talks, the company said on Friday.

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DATA POINT- Developing nations are in need of renewable energy investments of c. USD 1.7 tn annually, more than triple the amount they received last year, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said in its recent World Investment Report. UNCTAD said that developing countries only saw USD 544 bn in clear energy foreign direct investments last year. It said that although investments in renewable energy have nearly tripled since 2015, most of these investments were directed to developed countries. “A significant increase in investment in sustainable energy systems in developing countries is crucial for the world to reach climate goals by 2030,” UNCTAD Secretary General Rebeca Grynspan said.

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THE DANGER ZONE- The world’s hottest week on record is ringing the alarm bell: UN Secretary General António Guterres warned that “climate change is out of control” as unofficial data showed the world hitting its hottest week on record last week, The Guardian reported on Friday. “If we persist in delaying key measures that are needed, I think we are moving into a catastrophic situation, as the last two records in temperature demonstrates,” Guterres said. His statements come as the average global air temperature recorded 17.18°C on Tuesday, surpassing the record 17.01°C a day earlier, according to data by the UN National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). The daily average temperature for the seven-day period ending on Wednesday was estimated at 0.04°C higher than any week in the 44 years of record-keeping, according to the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer data.

El Niño’s comeback is bad news: The UN’s weather agency warned last week that the return of the naturally occurring El Niño weather pattern could pave the way for a surge in global temperatures as greenhouse gas emissions rise. “The onset of El Niño will greatly increase the likelihood of breaking temperature records and triggering more extreme heat in many parts of the world and in the ocean,” World Meteorological Organization Petteri Secretary General Taalas said.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Thailand will host the second workshop on addressing loss and damage from Saturday, 15 July to Sunday, 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.

Egypt will host the Egypt Mining Forum from Tuesday, 18 July to Wednesday, 19 July in Cairo. The event — organized by the country’s Oil Ministry — will gather regional players as well as global mining firms in a bid to attract regional and foreign direct investments in the country’s mining industry.

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

CIB is getting a helping hand from the IFC for its green push: Egypt’s largest private lender, CIB, will receive a USD 100 mn loan from the World Bank’s private investment arm the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to help fund the bank’s climate finance endeavors, CIB’s head of financial institutions Heba Abdel Latif told Bloomberg on Sunday.

Where’s the money going? The seven-year USD 100 mn loan aims to fund unidentified climate-friendly projects that include water treatment and efficiency, green buildings, renewables, and sustainable agriculture projects, Abdel Latif said.

REFRESHER- The loan expands on CIB’s USD 100 mn green bond issuance in 2021, which saw the IFC fully subscribe to the bonds, according to Abdellatif. CIB said at the time that it would use the proceeds from the country’s first-ever corporate green bond issuance to finance businesses looking to invest in green buildings, renewable energy, and other eco-friendly solutions.

More IFC funds coming CIB’s way: The bank will also receive a 10-year USD 150 mn Tier 2 facility from the IFC to “provide capital support for the bank’s sustainable growth plans,” Abdel Latif says. It is unclear whether the funds will be used to scale CIB’s growth plans or be used to greenify operations. According to the IFC’s website, CIB will “use the funding and capital support to grow its climate and MSME finance operation.” The loans were agreed upon on 26 June, the website showed.

And that’s not all: CIB is also in talks with other development financial institutions for additional green financing this year to “support our clients on their transition path,” Abdel Latif said, without providing further details.

Taqa Arabia takes a stumble on its EGX debut: Taqa Arabia began trading on Egypt’s bourse yesterday under the ticker TAQA after getting the green light from the EGX’s listing committee last week (pdf) but faced a transaction reversal on its first day, according to a statement (pdf) and an EGX news bulletin. The EGX board decided to reverse all transactions carried out on the shares of the Qalaa Holdings energy distribution subsidiary and reset the company’s share price to EGP 0.50 apiece, the bulletin read.

A bumpy start: The EGX board’s decision came on the heels of a request by the transaction’s broker, EFG Hermes, along with other brokerage companies to reverse all transactions that happened on the share saying that some 75 transactions worth EGP 395k were executed by mistake, according to a separate news bulletin. These were compounded by another EGP 3.7 bn block transaction, leading the share price to close up 83,500% at EGP 418.5 apiece at the end of trading.

What we know about the listing: Taqa sold shares to public investors via a direct offering, rather than going the conventional IPO route. Under the scheme, Taqa Arabia sold 1.35 mn shares at a nominal value of EGP 0.50 per share and an issued capital of EGP 676.1 mn, according to the statement.

Advisors: EFG Hermes is quarterbacking the transaction, while Zulficar & Partners are providing counsel. Baker Tilly is the independent financial advisor and PwC is the auditor, according to a regulatory filing (pdf) released last week.

About the company: Taqa Arabia is one of Egypt's leading energy distribution and utility companies, with operations spanning gas transmission and distribution, power, renewable energy, and water. The company’s shares were valued at EGP 8.90 a piece, handing the company an EGP 12 bn (USD 393 mn) valuation, according to the regulatory filing, and has EGP 676.2 mn in capital split between 1.352 bn shares. Qalaa indirectly owns about 55% of the company, with the remaining shares reportedly split between at least 300 other shareholders.

Green project bonanza in Egypt: Taqa Arabia said in the statement that it plans to “advance its projects in the fields of clean and green energy across various governorates” through the listing. Taqa Arabia is among 17 regional and international consortiums that prequalified recently for the tender process for several desalination plants in Egypt as part of the first phase of the government’s desalination program. They are also part of a consortium conducting feasibility studies on new projects to setting up a USD 4 bn green hydrogen project with France’s Voltalia in Egypt, CEO Pakinam Kafafi told Asharq Business (watch, runtime: 2:08), adding that the first phase set to realize a 100 MW electrolyzer capacity.

Taqa is also spreading regionally: The company plans to soon set up a company focused on new and renewable energy in Saudi Arabia, Kafafi told Mubasher in an interview. Taqa Arabia is hoping to finalize procedures for establishing the company within a month, she added, saying a Gulf expansion is anticipated amid the region’s accelerated renewable energy transition. Kafafi added that Taqa is also eyeing an East African expansion, especially in Mozambique.

KSA + France energy cooperation framework is taking shape: Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman met with his French counterpart Agnes Pannier-Runacher in Riyadh to discuss a previously signed energy agreement, the Saudi Press Agency reports, citing a joint statement. Bin Salman and French Foreign Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna signed an MoU in February to increase cooperation in renewable energy, energy efficiency and storage, and smart grids. The agreement was also designed to enhance collaboration in fields like climate change-mitigation tech and opened up avenues for cooperation between the two countries on nuclear energy use, clean hydrogen, and electricity interconnection.

Low-carbon hydrogen production will be taking center stage: Clean hydrogen and the technology fuelling its production will be a focus area within the agreement, the statement notes. Enhanced cooperation between the two countries on the tech behind hydrogen production, transmission, and distribution stages will aim to advance the rollout of renewable energy and low-carbon hydrogen. Increased business cooperation is also included in the agreement’s scope to facilitate more private sector investments to unlock future hydrogen partnerships. Finally, regulation will also play a large role within the agreement, with the two countries intending to draft a roadmap to establish a common certification for emission life cycle assessments to boost hydrogen trading.

France has been ramping up its investments in Saudi this year: French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies joined a Saudi-Japanese consortium to build a 119 MW solar plant in Saudi Arabia costing a total of USD 100 mn earlier this month. A JV between TotalEnergies and KSA’s Zahid Group is involved in a variety of large solar projects in different regions in KSA, eyeing growth in wind projects, and looking at partnerships with local players to build the circular economy through projects in plastic recycling and used cooking oil. On the sidelines of the France-Saudi Arabia Investment Forum in June, Saudi Arabia and France signed 24 preliminary agreements worth USD 2.9 bn in a number sectors including low-carbon energy.

IN OTHER CLIMATE DIPLO NEWS- The UAE is expanding renewables cooperation with Pakistan and South Korea: UAE's Energy Ministry signed an MoU with Pakistan to boost UAE renewable energy investments in the Southeast Asian country, COP28 said on Thursday. COP28 President-Designate Sultan Al Jaber attended the signing ceremony, which took place on the sidelines of a meeting discussing the COP28 agenda, climate financing, and operationalising the loss and damage fund, amongst other topics, Wam reported. The UAE also agreed with South Korea to expand economic cooperation in 11 strategic sectors at the UAE-South Korea Joint Economic Committee, including in the green economy and clean energy, Yonhap News Agency reported on Friday.

BP invests in WasteFuel on WtE ambitions: British oil and gas company BP invested USD 10 mn in WasteFuel’s series B funding round in a bid to help the US-based biofuel company establish its first waste-to-energy (WtE) production facility in Dubai, according to a statement released on Thursday. BP also signed an agreement to offtake the bio-methanol that WasteFuel would generate as part of its targets to decarbonize shipping and produce c.100k barrels of the green fuel per day by 2030.

We had a clue this was in the works: WasteFuel inked an agreement with UAE-based waste management company Averda last November to set up a commercial-scale biofuels production facility in MENA, agreeing to source the non-recyclable waste it would use to generate low-carbon fuels from Averda. At the time, the plant’s location was not determined, but was expected to be located in the UAE’s Jebel Ali.

And they have big plans: The company plans to develop multiple bio-methanol plants globally by setting up local strategic partnerships including waste companies, the statement notes.

About WasteFuel: Founded in 2018, the company has raised USD 28.7 mn to date over three funding rounds, according to Crunchbase. The startup’s WtE generation tech involves the treatment and conversion of agricultural and municipal waste into biomethanol and other green fuels that would “achieve up to 90% reductions in CO2 emissions and other greenhouse gasses and pollutants compared to conventional fuels,” it noted last week. Its new agreement with BP will see them partner on upscaling bio-methanol production tech, the statement notes.

Maersk and NetJets are backing the company: In 2021, the world’s largest private jet company NetJets and Danish shipping firm Maersk invested undisclosed sums in the US startup to help scale up the company’s operations in Asia and the Americas. WasteFuel plans to kickoff operations on its planned biorefinery in the Philippines by 2025, and has plans to develop others in emerging countries in coming years, NetJets notes.

Energy infrastructure under construction for KSA’s Red Sea Project: Red Sea Global, a global multi-project developer fully owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund the Public Investment Fund, has installed 750k solar panels and five solar stations for the first phase of the kingdom’s luxury Red Sea Project (RSP), SPA reported on Friday.

What we know: ILF Consulting Engineers was tapped as an independent engineer for the construction of RSP’s USD 1.5 bn net-carbon multi-utility system last April, is set to power 16 hotels, retail and entertainment venues with renewable energy.

The details: The renewable energy for the project will be generated through a 340 MW solar plant, a 1.2 GWh battery energy storage system (BESS) facility and an internal combustion engine with a capacity of 108.98 MW capacity. Potable water will be delivered using a seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant, with district cooling made possible with a capacity of 32.5k refrigeration tons.

A helping hand for Tunisia’s green transition: The USAID-backed Tunisian Private Sector Energy Transition Support Program (Power Tunisia) is set to offer subsidies and technical assistance to private companies in the country to help back their green transition, Tunis Africa Press Agency (TAP) reported last week.

Who is involved: Two agreements were signed last Wednesday between Power Tunisia and the Tunisia Green Building Council and the Chambre Syndicale du Photovoltaïque de Tunisie, Deputy Project Manager of Power Tunisia Sam Losow said.

What we know: The two agreements will help promote the development of innovative solutions for the accessibility of clean energy for industrial facilities, commercial establishments, agricultural businesses, among others, according to TAP. They would also pave the way for the joint development of programs and campaigns to spur energy efficiency practices and raise awareness about energy saving.

All part of a bigger scheme: Power Tunisia aims to expedite the adoption of renewable energy solutions for Tunisian companies through the deployment of 70 MW of renewable energy and lowering greenhouse gas emissions by one mn metric tons per year, Losow said. The project would pave the way to raise USD 40 mn for investments in clean energies with support directed to over 1.75k Tunisian companies, he said. The program will target leading enterprises with projects estimated at USD 2 mn, medium-sized enterprises ranging from USD 20k to USD 2 mn and small-sized enterprises with projects valued at lower than USD 20k.

It's all needed on the road to decarbonization: The new subsidies program would allow private sector businesses to slash energy bills and raise competitiveness and profitability while adhering to the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism starting from 2026. According to TAP, Tunisian steel, cement, fertilizer, and aluminum companies exporting to Europe will have to declare their carbon emissions starting October 2023. They will have to obtain carbon certificates or pay financial adjustments later when the mechanism comes into force in 2026.

REMEMBER- Tunisia aims to increase the share of renewables in its energy mix to 35% by 2030, equivalent to an additional installed capacity of approximately 4 GW. It also plans to become carbon neutral by 2050 under the country’s energy strategy for 2035, according to officials. Tunisia has unconditionally committed to pushing down its emissions from 2010 levels by 27% by 2030, and has set a conditional target to slash its emissions by 45% compared to 2010 by the end of the decade if it receives additional international support, according to the UNDP.

Water treatment project in Jordan a done deal: Jordan’s Water and Irrigation Minister Mohamed Al Najjar signed a JOD 7.6 mn (c. USD 10.7 mn) agreement for a treated water carrier project backed by Germany's Development Bank (KfW), according to a statement. The project in Irbid would provide 10 mn cubic meters of treated water annually under efforts by the government to expand the kingdom’s sanitation and irrigation services. It would also help slash greenhouse gas emissions by 6.6k tons annually, the statement notes.

A new waste management plant in Oman: Oman’s Sohar Port and Freezone signed a land lease agreement with Elite Hazardous Waste Management Solution (FZC) to build a USD 3.5 mn hazardous waste treatment plant in the zone, according to a statement on Saturday. The plant, which will span an area of 10k sqm, will treat industrial waste to produce heavy oil for use in slow-moving machines and a low-contamination carbon dust fit for cement and road construction industries. It is set to have an initial production capacity of 40 tons per day, with the capacity slated to increase to 80 tons per day within one year.

Neom’s mega hydrogen plant is officially underway: KSA’s Neom Green Hydrogen Company (NGHC) — an affiliate of Saudi renewables giant Acwa Power — says its planned mega hydrogen project is officially underway after the execution of all related agreements, according to a disclosure to Tadawul on Thursday. It said the notice to proceed (NTP) was issued after shareholders agreed to manage defined risks related to the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of the project.

More UAE desalination projects incoming: UAE state-owned Emirates Water and Electricity Company has issued requests for proposals (RFPs) for the Abu Dhabi Islands Reverse Osmosis (RO) Independent Water Project, Wam reported last week. The low-carbon desalination facility will have a daily conversion capacity of 455k cubic meters. Nineteen companies out of the 41 firms that expressed interest in developing the project have qualified for the RFP phase, the news agency reports.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

• Building materials supplier Cemex UAE has signed an agreement with UAE-based construction company Concrete Industries Complex to supply a range of low-carbon and net-zero raw construction materials. (Zawya)

The world’s biggest nuclear plant could be Canadian: Canada’s private nuclear generator Bruce Power plans to expand an existing nuclear plant in a bid to build the world’s largest nuclear facility to meet a rise in demand for clean energy, Bloomberg reported last week. It will conduct an environmental assessment to add c. 4.8 GW of capacity at its current facility in Ontario. Its eight reactors currently have a capacity of 6.2 GW and supply 30% of the province’s energy. The expansion of the facility would make the project larger than Japan’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, which is currently the biggest globally with seven reactors and over 8 GW of capacity.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

• India may outline mandates for green hydrogen use by industries after consultations, according to its renewable energy secretary Bhupinder Singh Bhalla. (Reuters)
• Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon dropped to its lowest level in four years with a 34% decline in the first half of 2023, according to preliminary data. (Reuters)
• US-based Duke Energy will sell its commercial decentralized energy generation business to US investment firm ArcLight to finance incorporating 30 GW of green energy across its operations. (Reuters)
• Denmark’s largest labor market pension fund PensionDanmark will invest up to DKK 7 bn (c. USD 1 bn) in the Port of Esbjerg’s green transition. (Statement)

Tweaking agricultural practices could help store some 31 gigatons of greenhouse gasses per year and avoid surpassing the 1.5°C warming threshold, The Guardian writes, referencing new research by former chief scientist at the UN environment program Jacqueline McGlade. Increasing agricultural soil carbon-storage capacities by just 1% across half of global farming soils could help plug the 32 gigaton emissions gap between current CO2 slashing targets and the carbon volumes that must be cut by 2030 to remain within the 1.5°C warming limit, the news outlet notes.

Soil is a major natural carbon sink: The planet’s soils store some 2.5k gigatons of CO2, containing more carbon than all plant life, which is more than three times the volumes of CO2 in the atmosphere, according to research out of Columbia University,

How can we get soil to store even more carbon? The research suggests that a divestment from artificial fertilizer usage in the top 30 centimeters of about 50% global farming soils would improve crop yields and enhance soil carbon storage capacity.

Fertilizers aren’t helping with dangerous emissions: According to researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, synthetic fertilizers have led to an uptick in greenhouse gas emissions in the last century. Ammonia fertilizers consume a lot of energy to be manufactured resulting in increased carbon dioxide emissions and crops only use approximately half of the nitrogen from fertilizers, with the rest broken down by microbes in the soil to release the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide back into the atmosphere.

By the numbers: According to a recent report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture are projected to rise by 7.5% in the next decade, representing less than half of the projected output growth. This signals a major drop in the carbon intensity of agricultural production, it said. Livestock is set to account for 86% of the increased emissions over the decade.

A price tag with carbon credits: Restoring some 40k hectares of degraded soil in Kenya, for example, would cost some USD 1 mn, according to McGlade. While farmers would pay a pretty penny in the first two-three years of shifting away from over usage of fertilizers, the new technique’s enhanced carbon-storage capacity could turn their farmlands carbon-negative, enabling them to sell the CO2 their lands absorb in the form of carbon credits in the future.

The EU already has plans to push down pesticide and artificial fertilizer use: Last week, the EU proposed draft legislation to reduce restrictions on genetically-modified crops that would be climate-tolerant and consume fewer volumes of artificial fertilizers, Reuters reported.