Good morning, wonderful people. We have significant news this morning emerging from Oman on the green hydrogen fund as the sultanate wraps the Duqm Economic Forum today, and other odds and ends from around the region.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY- Oman’s Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and FreeZones signed seven MoUs for green energy projects including green hydrogen and ammonia plants, green steel production, and renewable energy supply.

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

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- Severe drought affects Amazon river port: The major river port of Manaus in Brazil's Amazon rainforest is experiencing the lowest water levels in at least 121 years as a historic drought grips the country. The climate-driven drought has affected 481k people, leaving boats stranded in rivers and endangering food and water supplies to villages. This year's onset of weather phenomena El Niño is driving extreme weather patterns globally, Brazil's Science Ministry says, and expects the drought will last until at least December, when weather patterns effects are forecast to peak.

The story grabbed headlines in the international press: Reuters | The Guardian | The Financial Times

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OVER IN COPLAND- EU still at crossroads on negotiation position for fossil-fuel phase out at COP: A meeting of EU climate ministers yesterday revealed that the bloc remains split on how hard it should push for a global agreement to fully phase-out fossil fuels at COP28, EU diplomats told Reuters. The 24 EU member countries must agree on their negotiating position unanimously — meaning that just one government can block it — and the discussions have been fierce. Around 10 of the countries are demanding a phase out of all fossil fuels, while a similar number of countries are calling for a phase out of “unabated” fuels instead — which would allow for the continued production of fossil fuel if carbon capture technologies are used. The countries in the opposing camp — including the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Italy — fear the impact a full phase-out would have on their already struggling economies. Some diplomats told the newswire that a weakened stance from the EU could kill off hopes of an ambitious COP28 outcome.

REMEMBER- Fossil fuel phase-out has been one of the biggest points of contention at climate summits this year. G20 leaders and G20 energy ministers failed to reach consensus on a fossil fuels phasedown in September and July respectively. A G7 ministerial meeting on climate policy in April failed to agree on a deadline for phasing out coal. At the same time, the UAE has been calling for phasing out emissions by using carbon capture and storage technologies that the EU has warned “must not be used to green-light continued fossil fuel expansion.”

ALSO- COP28 heads met with multilateral bank executives: COP28 President Designate Sultan Al Jaber signed a letter of intent with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s (AIIB) president Jin Liqun to solidify COP’s commitment to scaling climate finance with the bank's support, according to a statement. COP28 Director General Majid Al Suwaidi and UAE Minister of State for Financial Affairs Mohamed Al Hussaini met with World Bank president Ajay Banga where they discussed a joint climate finance report and statement published by multilateral development banks and The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development last week. Last month, the AIIB opened its first overseas offices in Abu Dhabi.

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WATCH THIS SPACE #1- EU banks will be required to include ESG factors in assessments: EU watchdog the European Banking Authority (EBA) has set new industry-wide requirements — known as Pillar 1 requirements — obliging banks to adjust their client risk assessment procedures to include environmental and social risks, Bloomberg reports. This marks the first time that a banking authority has enforced firm capital requirements to reflect the environmental and social risks. While some of the obligations will be enforced immediately, others will be rolled out over time, in some cases leading to new legislation, according to the EBA.

What impact will this have? The impact is likely to become more pronounced over time, having implications for “traditional categories of financial risks, such as credit, market and operational risks,” the watchdog said. The new regulations are expected to have major implications for high-emitting sectors such as oil, gas, cement, steel and mining. While none have moved as fast as the EU in setting firm requirements, global banking and financial stability organizations are all reviewing reporting and capital frameworks, the news outlet said.

Not everyone is confident about the new rules: The European Banking Federation (EBF) — an umbrella organization for lender associations across the region — is worried there is inadequate data to justify imposing Pillar 1 ESG adjustments. The federation suggests imposing Pillar 2 rules instead, which are specific to individual banks rather than applying to all banks, a senior adviser at the EBF Denisa Avermaete told Bloomberg. “It is also crucial that once the EBA considers a more comprehensive revision of Pillar 1… [that] this is done at a global level to ensure a level playing field for EU banks,” Avermaete added.

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WATCH THIS SPACE #2- World’s mining giants failing to adequately account for their Scope 3 emissions: Five of the world’s biggest miners with goals to become net zero by 2050 haven’t proven they are taking the necessary efforts to reduce Scope 3 emissions created by customers and suppliers, Bloomberg reported last week, citing the results of analysis by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. Melbourne-based BHP — the world’s largest miner — and London-based multinational miner Rio Tinto have failed to set any measurable Scope 3 emission reduction targets, lead analyst at the institute Simon Nicholas said in a report, which also described Brazil’s top miner Vale’s efforts as “inadequate.” Fortescue was the only company that received praise from the report, having a target to reach net zero Scope 3 emissions by 2040. The giants may face investor pushback if they do not increase their efforts to account for emissions for which they are directly responsible, Nicholas added in the report.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Saudi Arabia will host the Environment Ministers in the Islamic World on Wednesday, 18 October and Thursday, 19 October in Jeddah. The two-day event will bring together ministers from 52 countries, as well as delegates from 30 regional and international environmental organizations, to discuss the green transition and developments in clean technologies within the Islamic world.

Oman will host the Duqm Economic Forum from Monday, 16 October to Tuesday, 17 October in Duqm. The two-day event — organized by the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and FreeZones — will showcase green investment windows and possible partnerships at the Special Economic Zone at Duqm.

Egypt will host the fourth meeting of the COP27 Transitional Committee from Tuesday, 17 October to Friday, 20 October in Aswan. The meeting aims to establish institutional arrangements, modalities, governance structures, and terms of reference for the landmark Loss and Damage Fund while expanding sources for climate funding under the program.

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