Climate Finance Mobilization Forum pledges over USD 2 bn in climate financing for MENA, Asia, and Latin America

Good morning, friends. After a lull yesterday, the news cycle has picked up as we slide into the weekend. Let’s jump right in.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY- Over USD 2 bn were pledged by Britain's Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Grant Shapps and US Special Presidential Envoy on Climate John Kerry for slashing emissions and bolstering climate resilience in MENA, Asia, and South America.

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

HAPPENING TODAY- The Ministerial on Climate Action (MoCA) will kick off today in Brussels and will conclude tomorrow. Co-hosted by European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans, Canada's Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault, and China's Ecology and Environment Minister Huang Runqiu, the event will gather high-level officials from over 30 countries, including the G20, and keynote speeches will be given by UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell and COP28 President-Designate Sultan Al Jaber.

Egypt’s Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad will also take part, according to a statement. The statement said the Brussels meeting will shed light on COP28 in Dubai and expected outcomes and build on the outcomes of Egypt-hosted COP27, including the landmark loss and damage fund and related mechanisms of activation and other topics.

AND- Could we finally be seeing a COP28 agenda? The UAE is set to outline its COP28 agenda during the Brussels-hosted Ministerial on Climate Action, The Financial Times reports.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- It’s a thin win for EU’s nature law: In a blow to center-right lawmakers, the European Parliament narrowly backed a contentious nature law aimed at restoring natural habitats. The session saw 336 in favor while 300 against with 13 abstentations. The legislation obliges countries within the bloc to put in place restoration measures on at least 20% of their land and sea areas by 2030. "We have won. It is a social victory: for scientists, for young people, for a lot of companies and businesses, for the agricultural sector," Cesar Luena, the parliament's lead negotiator on the law, told journalists following the knife-edged vote. Yesterday’s approval comes months after political pushback against the law, with the EU parliament’s majority group, the European People’s Party (EPP), leading a campaign against the law as it argued that the proposal be scrapped on grounds that it would undermine food security.

What’s next: EU member countries and lawmakers will now have to negotiate over the final text under hopes to reach an agreement before EU Parliament elections next year.

The story made the rounds in the international press: Reuters | Bloomberg | New York Times | The Guardian | CNN | Deutsche Welle | Euro News

MARK YOUR CALENDARS- The Enterprise Finance Forum is taking place on 18-19 September at the St. Regis Hotel in Cairo. 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.

** 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.

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? Ping a note to Moustafa Taalab, our head of commercial, or fill out this form and we’ll be in touch.

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

DID YOU MISS THE ENTERPRISE EXPORTS AND FDI FORUM? Tune in to the Enterprise Podcast and listen for yourself: The Enterprise Podcast is back with another installment of our forum series, where we bring you audio recordings of what was said on stage at the Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum, which took place in May.

WANT TO LISTEN? Head to: Apple Podcast | Spotify | Google Podcast | Anghami. We’re releasing a new episode every Sunday morning.

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WATCH THIS SPACE #1- One step forward for Jordan’s green hydrogen ambitions: The Jordanian Cabinet approved the formation of a national committee for green hydrogen headed by the country’s Energy and Mineral Resources Minister, according to a statement. The committee will be tasked with following up on preparation of legislation and regulations and evaluating potential investments in the sector, the statement added.

REMEMBER- Jordan plans to announce its green hydrogen strategy next quarter, officials said in June. The strategy aims to turn the kingdom into a competitive hub for low-carbon hydrogen production.

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WATCH THIS SPACE #2- Solar is poised to be king: Solar energy generation is on track to meet net zero emissions by 2050 scenario, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a forecast. It said solar PV generation rose by a record 270 terawatt-hour (TWh) to reach c. 1.3k TWh last year, highlighting solar’s capacity in surpassing wind for the first time in history.

More to come: Solar PV’s installed power capacity is set to surpass coal by 2027 to become the largest globally, the IEA forecasts. According to its predictions, cumulative solar PV capacity is set to triple by c. 1.5k GW, surpassing natural gas by 2026 and coal by 2027.

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FYI- Saudi’s sovereign wealth fund took a tumble last year: Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund the Public Investment Fund (PIF) suffered a USD 11 bn hit on investments in 2022 despite a global investments splurge, Bloomberg reported earlier this week, citing data from the wealth fund’s accounts. This hit to investments is an overturn from a profit of USD 19 bn on investment activities a year earlier. PIF — which manages c. USD 778 bn in assets — didn’t reveal a figure shareholder returns for last year yet it garnered a 25% in 2021. This brings the fund’s net loss attributable to the owner to SAR 36.6 bn (c. USD 9.8 bn) in 2022, down from a profit of SAR 81.8 in 2021.

PIF is hungry for renewables: PIF wholly-owned Badeel and renewables giant Acwa Power signed in May power purchase agreements with the Saudi Power Procurement Company to develop and operate three solar energy projects in the kingdom with a 4.5 GW cumulative generation capacity at an investment ticket of SAR 12.2 bn. The sovereign wealth fund is currently developing two other renewables plants in the kingdom, bringing its pipeline clean energy portfolio to 8 GW. It also acquired in December a 9.5% stake in German offshore wind developer and operator Skyborn Renewables.

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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.

The UAE will host the International Conference on Solar Power Technology from Saturday, 22 July to Sunday, 23 July in Dubai. The conference will bring together industry leaders as well as academics and researchers to discuss trends and innovations in the solar energy production sector.

The UK will host the London Hydrogen-Africa Green H2 Investment Forum from Tuesday, 25 July to Wednesday 26 July in London. The event will gather green hydrogen developers, investors, and policy makers to discuss challenges, regulatory frameworks, and investments in Africa’s green hydrogen market.

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

Climate finance for nearly everyone: Over USD 2 bn were pledged by finance heads and philanthropists for slashing emissions and bolstering climate resilience in MENA, Asia, and South America, according to a joint UK-US statement. The funds were pledged by Britain's Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Grant Shapps and US Special Presidential Envoy on Climate John Kerry following the Climate Finance Mobilization Forum at Windsor Castle.

Where’s the money going? The commitments include over USD 1 bn in emerging markets through a new venture by Builders Vision, Japanese trader Mitsui & Co and asset manager Renewable Resources Group Partnership, according to the statement. The funds will be directed to addressing impacts of climate change across critical supply chains in agriculture, natural resource development, and energy through nature-based solutions. Those include regenerative farming, agroforestry, and sustainable water management. These potential initial investment projects will cover areas in MENA and Central and South America, with an ambition for expansion to sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia in the future.

And there’s more earmarked for the blue economy: Other announcements include a USD 100 mn commitment by Builders Vision for oceans-related investments and grants in emerging economies. Those would focus on blue carbon, oceans carbon divide offset, and shipping decarbonization. Asset manager LeapFrog Investments has also committed USD 500 mn for firms tackling climate change in Africa and Asia to help in the environment, energy, mobility and food sectors. The Tony Elumelu Foundation said it will launch a USD 500 mn Coalition for African Entrepreneurs to help drive an additional 100k African youth entrepreneurs and small businesses.

A King Charles initiative is also taking part: The Sustainable Market Initiative, which was founded by King Charles in 2020, announced its new Terra Carta Accelerator Fund with a target of GBP 100 mn (c. USD 129.2 mn). The fund will focus on natural capital projects and supply chain in emerging and developing markets.

REMEMBER- The MENA climate finance gap is real: The MENA region continues to suffer from a large climate finance gap, with finance flows remaining feeble at USD 5.1-7.4 bn annually, according to UNFCCC figures. The figure is lower than the minimum USD 436-487 bn needed by the region to address and cope with climate change until 2030, according to the UNFCCC.

IN OTHER CLIMATE FINANCE NEWS- Canada will provide USD 450 mn to the UN’s Green Climate Fund to help developing economies address climate change, Reuters reports, citing Canada’s Climate Minister Steven Guilbeault. He said the pledged funds represented a 50% increase from the country’s previous pledge in 2019.

UAE’s NWTN plans to expand Abu Dhabi EV factory: Dubai-based green mobility company NWTN Motors has signed an MoU with the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (DED) to establish a new integrated electric vehicle production line in the UAE and expand its EV factory in Abu Dhabi, according to a statement.

And there’s more: Under the MoU, the DED will streamline and facilitate the necessary procedures for NWTN to obtain industrial licenses, the statement notes. Both parties will also work towards advancing Abu Dhabi’s automobile industry and transportation sector in line with the UAE’s Industrial Vision 2031. The MoU is valid until 2025, and could be renewed if both parties agree.

The new agreement builds upon plans NWTN revealed last year: NWTN Motors signed a lease agreement with industrial developer Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad) for the EV assembly plant last September. In the initial phase, the facility’s annual capacity would stand at 5-10k vehicles of semi-knocked-down EVs. In its second phase, NWTN wants to introduce several new EV models and expand the 25k sqm facility’s capacity to 50k units per year.

SOUND SMART- Semi-knocked-down kit is a car-industry term for vehicles that arrive at a plant with the body already welded and coated or painted, along with nearly all the parts needed for assembly. It’s called “SKD” in car-speak. A completely knocked down (CKD) kit is a box that arrives needing lots of work on site to assemble it, usually including welding and painting the body and often needing more local components. A CBU, or completely built up, vehicle is one that arrives at its destination already assembled, tires and all.

And there’s export hopes: “The strategic location, with direct access to regional and global markets and proximity to world-class manufacturing infrastructure in Kizad, will allow NWTN to enhance its operations long-term and increase our export potential,” NWTN CEO Alan Wu said at the time.

NWTN aren’t the only ones: The first EV assembly facility in the UAE was inaugurated in Dubai back in October. The M Glory Holding Group-owned AED 1.5 bn Al Damani Auto EV plant can currently assemble 10k cars annually, but it plans to raise the production capacity to 55k cars per annum over the coming few years. The factory will likely produce two models of Al Damani DMV300, which has a battery capacity of 52.7 kWh and can cover more than 405 km on a single charge, aiming to export the EVs to the wider GCC region, Egypt, Tanzania, Senegal, Mali and Kenya.

UAE’s Ryse Energy acquires US-based Primus Wind Power: Abu Dhabi-based decentralized renewable energy solutions company Ryse Energy has acquired US portable wind turbine manufacturer Primus Wind Power, Trade Arabia reports. The financials of the agreement were not disclosed.

The details: The acquisition should enable Ryse Energy to expand in North America and manufacture its own wind energy systems in the US as well as continue production of Primus Wind Power’s flagship Air turbine products in the country, the news outlet notes.

Prime Wind Power’s offerings: With over 185k wind turbines installed since 1995, Primus has a range of portable wind turbine offerings, including the Air Silent X, which is designed for marine environments; the Air 30 turbine, which generates 30 KWh of clean power per turbine on a monthly basis and is manufactured to withstand high wind environments; the Air 40, which the company describes as the world’s most popular small windmill; and the Air Breeze turbine, which generates 40 KWh of power monthly and is built for coastal and desert environments.

Not the first time Ryse invests overseas: Back in October, the company and Yeo signed an agreement to set up a UK-based JV to provide renewable energy battery storage solutions in the UK for wind, solar and micro-hydro projects.

About Ryse: Based in the UAE’s Masdar city, Ryse raised USD 15 mn in a single growth funding round led by RWE Energy Transition Investments last April. The company is a leading manufacturer of high-performance small wind turbine technologies globally. It offers several renewable energy systems — including solar and energy storage — which can be used as standalone technologies, grid-connected, off-grid with energy storage or hybridized technologies. It operates in various sectors, including decarbonizing infrastructure in telecoms and oil and gas networks, marine agriculture applications and providing renewable energy access for rural communities. The company has so far installed 4k wind turbines across all seven continents, it notes on its website.

It’s a done deal for Ma’aden, Ivanhoe: Saudi state-owned mining company Ma’aden and US mineral development company Ivanhoe Electric have finalized setting up an exploration JV in Saudi Arabia, according to a disclosure sent to Tadawul yesterday. The JV will be known as Ma’aden Ivanhoe Electric Exploration and Development Limited Company, according to a statement (pdf) by Ivanhoe released last week.

A refresher on the transactions: Under transactions announced earlier this year, Ma’aden has poured in USD 127.1 mn in Ivanhoe Electric to snap up a 9.9% stake in the company, according to the statement. Some USD 66 mn of Ma’aden’s proceeds will be pumped by Ivanhoe Electric into the new JV to fund exploration activities and the procurement of three new-generation proprietary electrical geophysical surveying transmitter Typhoon machines.

The Typhoon is coming: The Typhoon machines will be used to explore c. 48.5k km2 in the Arabian Shield, which the Saudi mining company has made exclusively available to the JV, according to the statement. One of the three machines is expected to arrive in Saudi Arabia next month, with surveying programs starting by September. A joint technical committee team will begin upon the arrival of the first Typhoon to survey geophysical anomalies that could indicate sulfide mineral deposits with copper, nickel, gold, and silver in the untapped area.

ALSO- Ma’aden now has representation on Ivanhoe’s board: Sofia Bianchi (LinkedIn) has been appointed as Ma’aden’s nominee to Ivanhoe Electric’s BoD, bringing the number of board members to nine, according to the statement. She has wide expertise in finance, holding executive positions at PricewaterhouseCoopers and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. She is currently the CEO and founding partner of Switzerland’s Atlante Capital Partners and is a non-executive director at Ma’aden.

REMEMBER- KSA is betting big on critical mineral exploration: The kingdom is looking to unlock an estimated USD 1.3 tn in mineral reserves and aims to become a global hub for metals and minerals needed in the energy transition. It says it also has large untapped reserves of metals — including copper, zinc, phosphate, and gold — and it plans to attract some USD 32 bn in investments in its mining and mineral sector and award more than a dozen mining exploration licenses to international investors.

Metito is looking to support Egypt’s green hydrogen boost: UAE-based water management solutions provider Metito is in talks with developers to establish four desalination plants to support Egyptian green hydrogen production facilities, Metito Managing Director Karim Madwar tells AlMal. Each of the desalination facilities — all expected to be located in close proximity to planned green fuels plants in Ain Al Sokhna — would have a 50k cubic meter production capacity. Metito has already established a desalination facility for Scatec and Fertiglobe’s 100 MW green hydrogen plant in Sokhna, Madwar says, and the plants would either be under a BOO agreement or be built under a joint partnership with the green fuels developers.

Metito has a track record in Egypt’s water infrastructure industry: The company — along with Orascom Construction, Hassan Allam Construction, and Arab Contractors — is developing the Al Mahsama agricultural drainage treatment plant.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

• Our friends at Infinity signed an agreement with real estate company Arab Developers Holding to establish EV charging stations across nine projects in Cairo and the Red and Mediterranean Sea coastal regions. (Statement)
• China’s LONGi is looking to unlock investments in Egypt’s solar energy and green hydrogen production sectors. (Statement)
• Bahrain’s Bapco Energies launched its ESG-linked finance framework with targets to push down scope 1 and 2 emissions from 2017 levels by 15% by 2025, 25% by 2030, 50% by 2040, and 75% by 2050 in a bid to achieve carbon-neutrality by 2060. (Trade Arabia)
• International nonprofit WorldFish is partnering up with Norway for innovative renewable energy solutions for the aquaculture sector in Egypt under a four-year initiative. (Statement)

A quiet Canadian lake could mark the start of the Anthropocene: A small lake in Canada’s Ontario may be used as the marker for the start of Earth’s Anthropocene epoch — a new geological chapter defined by humanity’s impacts on the planet, Nature reported earlier this week. Researchers, who have spent 14 years debating how to collect proof of when mankind began impacting the Earth, say that Crawford Lake’s sediments have collected the fallout from nuclear bombs and fossil fuel burning.

The “golden spike”: If given the nod by three geological organizations, a sediment core of the lake could become the “golden spike” marking the start of the Anthropocene. The sediment layers hold a record of environmental history, including remains of dirty fuel burning and traces of radioactive plutonium from nuclear bomb testing. “We have the key markers of the Anthropocene — at Crawford Lake, they line up perfectly,” said Francine McCarthy, who heads the team of researchers analyzing the lake.

So when does the Anthropocene start? Core samples taken from Crawford in 2019 and 2022 showed the plutonium traces increased in the early 1950s, but an additional sample taken this year showed that the year set for the golden spike could be 1950 which saw growing environmental changes or 1952 when levels of the radioactive chemical element rose dramatically.

But the timeline remains contentious among scientists: Critics argue pinning a new epoch to a recent time and place ignores the fact that humanity has been affecting the planet for much longer. “For Indigenous and other displaced and dispossessed peoples who were impacted by massive forms of violence that characterize the last 600 years, everything that leads up to what makes this global shift possible starts much earlier,” says anthropologist Zoe Todd. Proponents of the spike, on the other hand, say that the move is not meant to mark the start of humanity’s impact on the planet, but the planet’s response to this change.