Monday, 19 September 2022

Mahmoud Mohieldin puts the climate crisis into perspective for us — part 1 of 2

TL;DR

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

Good morning, wonderful people and welcome to apacked issue, which we’re editing this morning from Dubai. We recently had a sobering conversation on the state of our climate and possible solutions to an intensifying global crisis with none other than…

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY- Who better to speak to about the climate crisis than Mahmoud Mohieldin? The UN high-level climate champion for Egypt left nothing on the table during our talk. We covered everything from responsibility for the climate disaster, why coping with it means addressing sustainable development, and how to fund what comes next. We also dove deep into where the role of the private sector ends and the state’s begins, what to expect from COP27, how he landed the role of climate czar, and how only a holistic to climate is the best way forward.

Don’t miss part one of our two-part interview in today’s Newsmakers, below. We’ll have part two tomorrow.

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY- KSA wants long-term contracts from the EU for clean energy exports: Saudi Arabia wants the European Union (EU) to sign long-term contracts for renewable energy investments, including for green hydrogen exports, Arab News quotes European Council President Charles Michel as saying. “What they want to know is if we are ready to accept long-term contracts,” Michel said. Michel, who’s in MEN drum up more energy exports, met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other KSA officials last week. He also discussed investment in renewable energy with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed, earlier this month.

This comes as the EU is looking to increase its energy supplies from MENA as fallout from the Russia-Ukraine war raises prices in Europe. Michel is also discussing increasing energy supply from Algeria to Spain, upgrading gas links between Algeria and Italy, as well as rerouting Qatari LNG supplies bound for Asia to Europe instead, he said, according to Reuters.

SMART POLICY- MENA has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to lock in its position in Europe’s energy mix, including sales of renewables, natural gas, green hydrogen, and electricity. KSA is right to drive a hard bargain — everyone else in the region needs to be doing the same.

WATCH THIS SPACE- Saudi Arabia turns to AI for climate solutions: Saudi’s Environment, Water and Agriculture Ministry signed several MoUs that promote the use of AI in making the food and agriculture industries more efficient. At last week’s Global AI Summit, it signed an agreement with Signify (previously Philips Lighting) to develop energy-efficient lighting solutions for AI-enabled “smart farms” as well as with Tata Consulting Services to use AI to make food production more efficient and less wasteful. Google also got in on the action with an agreement on use of its Google Cloud service.


THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- More from the Department of Duh: Climate change could have increased Pakistan’s rainfall intensity by some 50-75% during monsoon season, according to a study published on Thursday by scientists affiliated with global research movement World Weather Attribution. Coming on the heels of flooding that has devastated the country, the news was got attention from major global news outlets: Financial Times | Guardian | Washington Post | New York Times.

And what happens if you throw La Nina into the mix? Weather disaster damages costing a possible USD 1 tn by the end of 2023. Climate change is heightening the impact of La Nina, an atmospheric phenomenon that’s been spurring the extreme weather events of the last two years, Bloomberg reports. Now we’re on track to see a third year of La Nina — something that’s only happened twice since 1950. And with this will come more weather disasters, costing an estimated USD 1 tn.

And if you think your business won’t be hit, think again: By 2050, 90% of the world’s biggest companies will see at least one of their assets exposed to climate threats, Bloomberg and Reuters report, citing S&P Global data. More than a third of those companies will see at least one asset lose 20% or more of its value as temperatures rise, according to this newly published data.


MOVES- Shell has appointed Wael Sawan (LinkedIn) as its new CEO, effective 1 January 2023, the company announced in a statement on Thursday. Current CEO Ben van Beurden will continue working as advisor to Shell’s board of directors until 30 June 2023. Sawan was appointed head of Shell’s integrated gas and renewables business last year. The Lebanese-Canadian national ran Shell’s LNG projects from 2012-2015.

THE BIG QUESTION- Could Sawan’s appointment mark a substantial shift towards renewable for the oil major? Opinions differ. A Bernstein analyst quoted by the FT thinks Sawan’s appointment could “bring new energy” to Shell’s decarbonization strategy, allowing the company to assume a leading role in the energy transition. Others disagree: Sawan’s appointment “is expected to have limited impact on Shell’s strategy,” analysts told Reuters. “The shift is likely to be more of a continuation than revolution of the strategy put in place by van Beurden,” analysts from RBC Capital told the publication. Investors, meanwhile, will be “looking for assurances” on renewable strategy, as well as dividend security, one analyst noted.

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THE COUNTDOWN TO COP- Civil society groups are calling for a climate day of action on 12 November, right in the middle of COP27, according to The Guardian. The COP27 Coalition — a group of environmental activists — said they will stage demonstrations to spur climate-focused grassroots movements, and will call for global protests to put pressure on the 196 nations expected to gather at COP27, the newswire notes. The coalition wants to use the summit “to demand climate justice and solidarity for Africa and the global south,” a member of the coalition told the news outlet. “To stop the climate crisis and bring energy justice to the world, we need a rapid phase-out of fossil fuels.” The focus will also be on demanding grants instead of loans for Africa’s decarbonization.

HAPPENING TODAY-

The British University in Egypt’s model COP27, which kicked off yesterday, will run through Tuesday with 170 participants from 52 different countries. The mock summit is organized in partnership with the UNDP and under the auspices of the country’s Youth Ministry, a ministry statement told us last week.

PSA #1- The EU-funded ER2FOOD initiative will provide grants and mentorship to Egyptian startups working on energy and resource efficiency in bakeries, according to a statement by the initiative. Grants of up to EUR 8.5k will be given to companies tackling energy, water consumption and waste reduction, as well as those developing resource-efficient products and recipes. Companies can apply to the nine-month Innovation Support Program until 30 September here.

PSA #2- Nominations for the “Africa Grows Green Awards” are now open through 2 October. The initiative, launched by Egyptian NGO Istidama, aims to celebrate stakeholders involved in climate change action among COMESA member states. The awards also seek to develop climate entrepreneurship by connecting companies with VCs. For more information and to apply, you can visit the initiative’s website.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Our friends at HSBC are hosting an energy transition webinar series next Tuesday-Thursday (27-29 September). The series will look at the “latest climate analysis in relation to the global energy market and transition to net zero” in six different sessions covering energy security, what is required to ensure the success of COP27, financing and investment needs for the energy transition, and the scaling up of renewables in the region, among other topics. You can register for the series here.

The Egyptian Center for Economic Studies is hosting a webinar on adaptation readiness tomorrow in partnership with Egyptian private-sector bank CIB. The webinar will discuss adaptation readiness plans and the challenges that Africa faces on its road to climate change adaptation. You can register for the webinar here.

The World Cement Association’s (WCA)’s global conference will take place from 25-28 September at Emirates Towers in Dubai, UAE. The event will be attended by COP26 UN Climate Champion Nigel Topping, among other attendees, panelists,and keynote speakers. You can register for the event here.

The Wetex and Dubai solar show will run 27-29 September at the Dubai World Trade Center.

Dubai will host the World Green Economy Summit on 28-29 September. The summit wants to provide a platform to build consensus around the potential of technologies, policies and youth that could drive the green economy transformation.

Fitch Solutions hosting a webinar on Saudi Arabia’s energy transformation next Thursday, 29 September at 12:00pm KSA. You can register here.

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

NEWSMAKERS

Part 1 of our exclusive sitdown with Mahmoud Mohieldin, the UN climate change high-level champion for Egypt

Putting the climate crisis into perspective: As we near COP27 in November — seven years after the Paris Climate Agreement was signed — many of the fundamental issues are yet to be ironed out. The dust hasn’t settled on everything from who bears responsibility — to who foots the bill for financing and to the debate about mitigation (slowing climate change) vs adaptation (figuring out how our cities, countries and businesses will live with it).

Perhaps there is no one better to help us get a sense of all of this than Egypt’s UN high-level climate champion, Mahmoud Mohieldin, whose work on these issues predates the Paris agreement — and who will continue to drive the agenda for global climate action in the period spanning COP27 (Egypt) and COP28 (UAE). Prior to his selection as Egypt’s climate czar, Mohieldin has had a distinguished history of public service in Egypt and at the IMF. Critically, he was the World Bank’s senior vice president for the 2030 Development Agenda, where he helped shape the 17 sustainable development goals — the global metric for development.

In part one of our sit-down, Mohieldin explains the fundamental challenges when it comes to the climate crisis, and provides a sobering reality check on just how far off the mark we are.

KEY TAKEAWAYS-

  • Emerging economies bear no real responsibility for climate change, but are the most impacted by it;
  • Developed economies are falling far short of the USD 100 bn per year they’ve collectively pledged to help emerging economies like ours here in MENA mitigate and adapt. The real gap, he says is in the USD tns, not USD bns;
  • Reducing the climate change debate to “mitigation” suits the interests of developed economies;
  • Mohieldin took the job as UN high-level climate champion because it meshes two of his passions: Crisis management and sustainable development.

ENTERPRISE: Let’s go back to the beginning. How did you wind up in this role?

MAHMOUD MOHIELDIN: This goes back to a process that started in Marrakesh a year after the Paris Agreement. Marrakesh is where the international community really recognized the importance of non-state actors — any entity or agency that is not part of the formal negotiation track. That includes the business community, civil society organizations, academic institutions, local and regional governing bodies, et cetera. So it’s a very broad tent of participants.

Within that, my focus is very much on the implementation side, on turning into reality everything the state actors agree on. I’m the seventh to hold this post, and there are two champions at a time. So I’m doing this work with the champion from COP26, Mr. Nigel Topping, and next year I should be doing this job with the climate champion selected by the UAE.

ENTERPRISE: Why was it the right challenge for you? Why was it appealing to you personally?

MM: Because it’s about a crisis and about development. It’s as simple as that.

I’ve been tackling crises and challenges throughout my professional life. Some of an economic nature, with challenges of development — challenges that were financial, economic and social — and now, climate.

And climate is the ultimate crisis. We do come across occasional short-term or midterm-crises — a financial crisis, a debt crisis, or even a pandemic — but the climate crisis is long-term and it affects everyone on the planet. It is very deeply rooted in history, going back to the Industrial Revolution. And the stakes are so very high.

It also relates to my years at the World Bank, where I worked on the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs). My focus has always been on implementation, on finance, on monitoring data systems and helping the work at the country level and globally. When I was offered the chance to do this work, I thought, “This is a great chance to get into this area that had its own dynamics, but was very much integrated in the sustainable development framework that I had been working on.”

And it has many links with other problems. So while climate change is causing more poverty, more vulnerability, loss of economic potential, and negatively impacting social development … the solutions to the climate agenda are about investment, an area in which I have been working for many years.

Solutions to climate challenges are not just about massive investment in mitigation, in renewable energy, in tackling the impact of the crisis through adaptation. It requires more investment in human capital and resilience at large. Others take a much more narrow or “reductionist” approach to climate challenges.

ENTERPRISE: What do you mean by reductionist?

MM: Sustainability means handling different aspects of economic and social problems, including the political economy dynamics. This is the beauty of the structure of SDGs. You need to end poverty and you need to improve equity or equality in society. That will only happen through investment in health, education, infrastructure, digital infrastructure and resilience (including climate and biodiversity). If you take it this way, it’s about an inclusive and balanced approach to the challenges facing people and our planet.

A reductionist approach is telling you something completely different. It comes from a group of countries that have already benefited from their social and economic development. They have higher education levels, they have satisfactory health services, their economic progress and development brought them high living standards. These countries have hit the critical minimum of economic, social and human development. So, what’s left for them but the climate crisis?

That reductionist approach boils the whole discussion about sustainability down to mean decarbonization and emissions and taking as well measures like carbon pricing as a guiding star for their activities. This fits nicely with their own priorities for economic development going forward.

ENTERPRISE: Who are these countries?

MM: Let’s just say the very advanced members of the OECD — the club of rich countries.

ENTERPRISE: So what’s a holistic approach, then?

MM: Let’s start with Africa, Latin America or parts of East Asia. They haven’t really contributed to the mess we’re in, but they’re most exposed to the shocks. All of Africa is responsible for maybe 3-4% of global emissions, but water management systems are being compromised. Climate change has a severe impact on coastal areas. They’re exposed to severe weather. So when we talk about climate in developing economies, we need to do it in a comprehensive program. It needs to address a ‘typical’ African country that may already suffer more from poverty, inequality, from the quality of education, and from inadequate health services and infrastructure.

ENTERPRISE: This is the mitigation vs. adaptation debate that’s now taking place…

MM: Mitigation is very important. It’s a problem developing nations share with advanced economies. But in many developing countries, adaptation is at least as important as mitigation. It’s about how we handle the negative impact and spillover from climate change. It means, simply, getting all of the dimensions related to the Paris Agreement, not just focusing on climate.

It also means how do we line up finance: How do we invest to address the climate crisis and development rather than borrowing more.

ENTERPRISE: Let’s talk about finance, then. How do we pay for it?

MM: We’re not doing enough. Too many developed economies are falling short. Let me take it from the beginning. Back in ‘09 in Copenhagen, the idea was basically that advanced economies could pay their own climate bills, but it would be a challenge for developing economies to do the same.

Emerging economies are short on resources — and they’re genuinely not responsible for the mess on climate. So, practically and morally, there is a need for funding to flow to them.

That’s where this USD 100 bn figure comes in — the idea that developed countries would together come up with USD 100 bn per year by 2020 (since extended to 2025) to help emerging economies take action on climate. COP veterans know that that nice round figure was a critical minimum. It was meant, initially, to be public finance (in the form of grants) and very concessional funds.

It has never been paid in full. The closest we got to that USD 100 bn figure was last year, when a committee said that advanced economies managed to contribute 79% of the bill. And this figure is challenged by many think tanks and research centers with suggestions that there has been double and multiple counting.

ENTERPRISE: What’s the real figure, then?

MM: There have been suggestions that it is closer to 20%, not 80%. I am arguing that the gaps are in the tns of USD. Having an argument over the USD 100 bn figure as if it solves the whole thing is a mistake. It diverts attention. Don’t get me wrong: There are many people who take that figure seriously. And without that figure, many of the development finance and climate entities cannot do their work. Many low-income countries are very much dependent on that figure.

This USD 100 bn figure is a token of trust — it’s a small figure by any measure. If you cannot deliver on that, how can I trust that you’ll address the bigger figure that is required — the tns of USD for energy transformation and adaptation? It’s also important to remember that these USD can be leveraged. That USD 1 can create USD 2, 3, 4, 5 more, depending on the funding model.

I hope we will all benefit from the experience post-2009 and that the result will be that we have a more realistic figure for the post-2025 world — and that we’ll have a mechanism to encourage participation. We will also need to have some sort of monitoring process in place. At the end of the day, these funds are coming from rich economies of their own will.

ENTERPRISE: Who’s not paying their bills?

MM: I’m not in the business of naming and shaming. So I’ll say this: There are some countries, including the Scandanavians and other Europeans, who are paying their bills nicely. Take the Overseas Development Institute’s report: Sweden, France, Norway, Japan, the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark are all doing well in terms of progressing toward providing their fair share. The others? They’re at less than 20%. Some of the richest countries are close to 5%.

I want to stress that whatever the new number is for 2025 onward, we need to agree on it soon. And it needs to draw on the lessons we’ve learned so far — we need to also think about development finance gaps. Widening it to talk about development doesn’t mean losing focus or diluting responsibility — it acknowledges the reality on the ground in emerging economies.

ENTERPRISE: Is that where this “stocktaking” that you’ve been talking about comes into play?

MM: The presidencies of COP27 and COP26 have commissioned an independent committee led by Vera Songwe and Nicholas Stern that is working hard to finish a stocktaking exercise that will deliver a blueprint on how to get our act together on climate and development finance.

THE SECOND AND FINAL PART OF OUR INTERVIEW WITH DR. MAHMOUD runs tomorrow in Enterprise Climate, looking at financing mechanisms, whether Egyptian CEOs are doing enough when it comes to climate, and what a first-time attendee at COP27 can expect.

CLIMATE FINANCE

Speaking of development finance…

Could MENA be in line for some EUR 4.4 bn in funding from the EIB? The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing some EUR 4.4 bn of financing for climate action, some of which may go towards countries in the region, according to an EIB statement issued last week. The funds will “better protect vulnerable communities in Europe, Africa and the Caribbean from the impact of a changing climate and enable a just transition in regions strongly affected by changes to traditional energy use,” said EIB president Werner Hoyer. This is part of a EUR 15.1 bn package approved by the EIB on Wednesday and designed to accelerate private sector investment, with a focus on climate

We don’t yet know just how much is earmarked for MENA, but Egypt is definitely getting a slice: The targeted business financing provided by the EIB will include “pioneering initiatives to provide streamlined financing for green and sustainable business investment in Egypt,” the statement tells us. Lending schemes to boost support for women-led business in Africa were also approved, it adds.

MEANWHILE, THE EBRD IS SPREADING SOME FINANCE TURKEY’S WAY-

Our friends at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide a EUR 50 mn on-lending facility to Turkish leasing company Yapi Kredi, EBRD said in a statement on Wednesday. The facility will see Yapi Kredi provide leasing finance to borrowers looking to go ahead with pro-climate projects including energy efficiency and renewable energy installation, the statement added. The facility comes as part of the EBRD’s Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF) initiative — and is the first to be offered to a leasing company.

THE US HAS USD 5mn FOR AfDB-

The US will provide a USD 5 mn grant to the African Development Bank (AfDB) to lower methane gas emissions across Africa, according to an AfDB statement on Thursday. The grant will be directed to the AfDB-managed Africa Climate Change Fund, US special presidential envoy for climate John Kerry announced during the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) in Senegal. Meanwhile, the Global Methane Hub — a methane-reducing initiative signed by over 110 countries — will also contribute USD 5 mn over the next five years to the fund, while the Climate and Clean Air Coalition will provide USD 1.2 mn.

ENERGY EXPORTERS LOOK TO THE LONG-TERM-

The OPEC Fund for International Development is doubling its climate financing goals by 2030, according to an OPEC Fund statement on Thursday. Under its first Climate Action Plan, the fund plans on raising the contribution of climate projects in its overall funding to 25% by 2025, and then raising that to 40% by 2030 — up from a current 20%. The plan will see the fund provide funding to partner countries in agriculture, water, transport and energy, as well as smart cities and climate finance solutions.

ON YOUR WAY OUT

How many sponges does it take to soak up a flood? A whole city’s worth… As the Middle East suffers from unprecedented flash floods, proposals for “sponge city technology” are being raised by climate consultants and engineers as a possible solution, according to the National. And no, we don’t mean literal sponges: Sponge cities are basically urban areas with lots of parks, lakes and other natural landscapes that can absorb excess water from flash floods. For cities lacking these natural barriers, developing man-made landscapes could be a solution, such as building underground reservoirs and sand barriers.

Why would this work particularly well in the MENA region? Reservoirs and sand barriers hold the water in storage until it can be reused if needed, which in a water-scarce region such as the GCC, would kill two birds with one stone, May Faraj, senior advisory director at WSP Middle East, tells the newspaper. Across the GCC, municipalities are exploring urban design solutions when looking at handling these floods, which look set to get worse. Officials at the Oman Housing Ministry estimate that 45% of Muscat is vulnerable to flooding from valleys, while 20% of the city is vulnerable to coastal floods, according to Muscat Daily.

CALENDAR

SEPTEMBER

20 September (Tuesday) UN Regional Economic Committee for Europe, Geneva, Switzerland.

25-28 September (Sunday-Wednesday): World Cement Association’s Global Conference, Emirates Towers, Dubai, UAE.

27-29 September (Tuesday-Thursday): WETEX & Dubai Solar Show, UAE.

28-29 September (Wednesday-Thursday): 8th World Green Economy Summit (WGES), UAE.

28-29 September (Wednesday- Thursday): Saudi Maritime Congress, Dhahran Expo,

Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

28-29 September (Wednesday- Thursday): International Government Communication Forum, Expo Center Sharjah, Sharjah, UAE.

28-30 September (Wednesday-Friday): Ethio Weetex- Water, Energy, Electricity, Renewable (Solar, Wind) Energy, Technology Exhibition, Millennium Hall, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

30 September: Deadline to apply for ER2FOOD’s Innovation Support Program for Egyptian Startups.

OCTOBER

4-5 October (Tuesday- Wednesday): Green Energy Africa, Cape Town International Convention Center 2, South Africa.

11-12 October (Tuesday-Wednesday): Games for Change Summit in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

16-21 October (Sunday-Friday): Arab Conference of Plant Protection, Le Royal Hotel, Hammamet, Tunisia.

18-20 October:(Tuesday- Thursday): The British University in Egypt’s COP27 Simulation Model, Cairo, Egypt.

21 October (Friday): Symposium on Alternative Low and Zero Carbon Fuels, IMO Headquarters, London, The United Kingdom.

24-26 October (Monday-Wednesday): International Exhibition of Renewable Energies Clean Energies and Sustainable Development, Centre Des Conventions Mohammed Ben Ahmed, Oran, Algeria.

25-27 (Tuesday – Thursday): International Investment Forum for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in MENA, InterContinental, Amman, Jordan.

31 October (Monday-Friday): Deadline for proposals for Jordan’s USD 2 bn Aqaba-Amman desalination project.

Approval of EU draft document pushing countries participating in COP27 to to improve their climate change targets.

NOVEMBER

Sustainability Forum Middle East is taking place in Bahrain.

Nigeria hopes to secure USD 10 bn support package for green energy transition before COP27.

7-18 November (Monday-Friday): Egypt will host COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh.

23-24 November (Wednesday-Thursday): Global Conference on Sustainable Partnerships, The Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Deadline of bid submissions for the Ras Mohaisen – Baha – Makkah Independent Water Transmission Pipeline in Saudi Arabia.

COP27 sub-events:

Terra Carta Action Forum (2 days) organized by the Prince of Wales’ Sustainable Markets Initiative.

UNFCCC’s capacity building hub.

DECEMBER

5-7 December (Monday-Wednesday): Green Hydrogen Summit 2022, Oman Convention & Exhibition Center (OCEC), Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.

13-15 December (Tuesday-Thursday): International Renewable Energy Congress, Hammamet, Tunisia.

15 December (Thursday): The UN’s 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15), Montreal, Canada.

JANUARY 2023

14-21 January (Saturday-Saturday): Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week takes place in the UAE.

16-18 January (Monday-Wednesday): EcoWASTE, Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC), UAE.

January- October: ER2FOOD’s Innovation Support Program for Egyptian Startups, Cairo, Egypt.

FEBRUARY 2023

6-8 February (Monday-Wednesday): Saudi International Marine Exhibition and Conference, Hilton Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The second edition of The Arab Green Summit (TAGS), Dubai, UAE

MARCH 2023

15-19 March (Wednesday-Sunday): Qatar International Agricultural and Environmental Exhibition, Doha, Qatar.

JUNE 2023

1-3 June (Thursday-Saturday): Envirotec and Energie Expo, UTICA, Tunis, Tunisia.

SEPTEMBER 2023

Chariot Limited and Total Eren’s feasibility study on a 10 GW green hydrogen plant in Mauritania to be completed.

NOVEMBER 2023

6-17 November (Monday-Friday): The UAE will host COP28.

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

End-2022

KSA’s Neom wants to tender three concrete water reservoir projects to up its water storage capacity by 6 mn liters.

2023

Early 2023: Egypt’s KarmSolar to launch KarmCharge, the company’s EV charging venture.

Mid-2023: Sale of Sembcorp Energy India Limited to consortium of Omani investors to close.

Phase C of the 900-MW of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai to be completed.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) steam cracker furnace powered by renewable energy to come online.

2024

End-2024: Emirati Masdar’s 500 MW wind farm in Uzbekistan to begin commercial operations.

QatarEnergy’s industrial cities solar power project will start electricity production.

First 1.5 GW phase of Morocco’s Xlinks solar and wind energy project to be operational.

2025

Second 1.5 GW phase of Morocco’s Xlinks solar and wind energy project to be operational.

UAE to have over 1k EV charging stations installed.

2026

1Q 2026: QatarEnergy’s USD 1 bn blue ammonia plant to be completed.

End-2026: HSBC Bahrain to eliminate single-use PVC plastic cards.

Iraq’s Mass Group Holding wants to invest EUR 1 bn on its thermal plant Mintia in Romania to have 62% of run on renewable energy, while expanding its energy capacity to at least 1.29k MWh.

2027

MENA’s district cooling market is expected to reach USD 15 bn.

2030

UAE’s Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) wants to provide AED 35 bn in green financing.

UAE targets 14 GW in clean energy capacity.

Tunisia targets 30% of renewables in its energy mix.

Qatar wants to generate USD 17 bn from its circular economy, creating 9k-19k jobs.

Morocco’s Xlinks solar and wind energy project to generate 10.5 GW of energy.

2035

Qatar to capture up to 11 mn tons of CO2 annually.

2045

Qatar’s Public Works Authority’s (Ashghal) USD 1.5 bn sewage treatment facility to reach 600k cm/d capacity.

2060

Nigeria aims to achieve its net-zero emissions target.

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