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

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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.

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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.

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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)

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.