TODAY: TotalEnergies is going to court over Uganda oil project + The UAE wants COP29, too
Good morning, wonderful people. It’s yet another busy news day today, with the news flow not looking ready to let up just yet.
THE BIG CLIMATE STORY- The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has commissioned the 200 MW second unit of the parabolic basin complex in Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar park’s fourth phase
THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- There’s no single climate story grabbing the headlines this morning, but four environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against France’s TotalEnergies over their oil project in Uganda and other fossil fuel projects, Reuters reported on Monday. The groups — Darwin Climax Coalitions, Sea Shepherd France, Wild Legal and Stop EACOP-Stop Total en Ouganda — said they filed a complaint over the leading energy company’s “climaticide action.” They said that TotalEnergies has approved more oil projects than any of its counterparts between 2022 and 2025, including a USD 3.5 bn East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) that will help Uganda export oil. A TotalEnergies spokesperson said the company was not aware of the legal complaint, stressing that it “operates in compliance with its operating standards and with laws and regulations.”
The complaint against TotalEnergies also got ink from: Bloomberg | AFP.
OVER IN COPLAND- The UAE wants to have its COP and host the next one too: The UAE has expressed interest in hosting COP29 instead of frontrunners Armenia and Azerbaijan, given the ongoing geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe, The Financial Times reported. Russia has pushed back against any EU country hosting the summit in light of the Ukraine war. Germany, as the home of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, would host the event if countries fail to choose a host, with the UAE to remain as president.
But it's still figuring out how to reach a fossil-fuel phase out agreement at its biggest energy conference ahead of COP: The Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (Adipec) kicked off yesterday with a goal to get industry players to make firm decarbonization commitments ahead of the anticipated climate summit in November, COP28 CEO Adnan Amin told Reuters. “What we have done today is something quite unprecedented in the COP process, to bring together both the demand and supply side in terms of emissions," Amin said. COP28 President Designate Sultan Al-Jaber and US Climate Envoy John Kerry attended the first day of meetings on the commercialization of hydrogen, carbon capture technologies, methane elimination, and increasing renewable energy, Reuters said citing a COP28 statement. Stakeholders will have until Thursday at Adipec to come up with a more solid consensus on what a global fossil-fuel phase out would look like.
Al Jaber claims Big Oil is on board, but fails to mention further details: More than 20 oil and gas companies have positively answered calls to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 and stop routine flaring by 2030, Reuters reported, citing statements made by Al-Jaber during Adipec. Al Jaber did not give details about which oil companies he is referencing or how they plan to reach those targets.
REMEMBER- Climate experts are coming head-to-head with oil and gas companies with regards to agreeing on the fastest and most effective method to decarbonize industries, with the former championing setting goals to reduce fossil-fuel production — which the EU is backing — while the latter is pushing a focus on carbon capture technologies.
And across the Mediterranean, the EU is preparing itself for the worst: Spain’s Energy Minister Teresa Ribera has warned that talks at the COP28 climate summit will be “challenging,” Reuters reported, citing Ribera’s opening comments at the Climate and Energy Summit co-hosted by the International Energy Agency in Madrid. Spain — which currently holds the EU Council rotating presidency — is trying to push for an international coalition to back the 2015 Paris target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
MEANWHILE- UAE FM in Paraguay for pre-COP briefing: UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan met with the President of Paraguay on Monday to talk bilateral cooperation in investment, climate, and industry as part of the UAE’s pre-COP rounds. (Wam)
WATCH THIS SPACE #1- More fertilizers by Oman? Salalah’s Organic Fertilizer Production plant is aiming to produce 100k tons of organic fertilizers within a year, The Times of Oman reported on Sunday, citing statements by Nakheel Oman Development Company’s Director of Farms Planning Sarah bin Zaher Al Afan. She said that the plant — which falls under the supervision of the Nakheel Oman Development Company in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources — produced 25k tons of organic fertilizers since the start of its operations during the first quarter of this year. She revealed that the facility uses green waste provided by Oman Environmental Services Holding Company (be’ah) to produce organic fertilizers. It also utilizes animal waste purchased from local cattle breeders, she added.
WATCH THIS SPACE #4- UK firm ventures into Morocco’s Zagora Cobalt Project: Atlantic Research Minerals (ARM), a subsidiary of UK-based clean metals exploration company Critical Mineral Resources (CMR), has agreed to invest in the scoping and feasibility studies for the cobalt-rich site of Zagora in Morocco, as part of an earn-in agreement with the project owner SA Strategy, the UK company said yesterday. ARM will acquire an initial 20-25% share in the project, which will rise to 70% after the feasibility study is completed.
WATCH THIS SPACE #3- UN adopts new safety rules for chemical handling: The UN has adopted new global rules for the safe handling of chemicals under a Global Framework on Chemicals, according to a statement by the intergovernmental organization. The framework sets out 28 concrete targets and guidelines for key sectors across the supply chain, from the production stage to the waste stage. These targets tackle the illegal trafficking of chemicals and waste and include a plan to phase-out the use of highly hazardous pesticides in agriculture by 2035. It also calls for a transition to more sustainable chemical alternatives, responsible use of chemicals in industry, agriculture, and healthcare, and better access to information about the risks associated with different chemicals. Germany has pledged EUR 20 mn to implement the framework, which the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) will manage. The framework was passed during the Fifth International Conference on Chemical Substances Management (ICCM5) of the UNEP held in Bonn.
And doubling down with a separate Bonn Declaration: Participants also adopted the Bonn Declaration, in which they committed to “prevent exposure to harmful chemicals, and phase out the most harmful ones, where appropriate, and enhance the safe management of such chemicals where they are needed,” according to the statement.
DATA POINT– No easy path to decarbonize the shipping industry: Decarbonizing the world’s shipping industry would require an additional USD 8 bn to USD 28 bn annually by 2050, UN agency UNCTAD said in a report last week. It called for a “just and equitable transition" to a decarbonized shipping industry, highlighting the substantial costs needed for such a transition. Investments ranging from USD 28 bn to USD 90 bn annually will be required to develop infrastructure for 100% carbon-neutral fuels by 2050, UNCTAD said.
And an aging fleet is ringing the bells: UNCTAD voiced concern over the aging of the global shipping fleet, saying that more than half of the world’s fleet is over 15 years old. Commercial ships averaged 22.2 years old at the beginning of the year, two years older than a decade ago. “Ship owners face the challenge of renewing the fleet without clarity regarding alternative fuels, green technology and regulatory regimes to guide ship owners and ports, while port terminals face similar challenges in vital investment decisions,” it said.
REMEMBER– Member countries of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) gave in July 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 to reach net zero “by or around, i.e., close to 2050, taking into account different national circumstances.” However, such a strategy has been criticized by environmentalists as not enough. The shipping industry accounts for nearly 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with emissions escalating by 20% in just a decade, according to the UNCTAD.
THE DANGER ZONE- Amazonian dolphins die en masse amid rising water temps: Water temperatures in Brazil’s Lake Téfé have exceeded 39°C after a protracted drought dried up the lake basin, leaving hundreds of pink river dolphins and thousands more fish dead in scenes described as “apocalyptic” on Friday, the Guardian reports. Brazil’s extreme weather changes, resulting from human activity and the cyclical El Niño weather phenomenon, has caused intense rainstorms in the southern parts of the country and a scorching drought in the north. The water depth of the Amazon, the world’s second longest river, has dipped by 30 cm every day over the past two weeks and by 7.4 m since the start of this year, a rate local biologists have described as “absurd.”
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