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.

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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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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.