COP27 lands a landmark USD 100 bn loss and damage fund

It’s finally over, and with COP27 now in our rearview mirror (if barely), we’re starting the week by taking stock of the “COP of implementation.”

Much of the narrative in the Western press thinks COP27 fell short of the mark. As people who live, work, invest and do business in an emerging market at risk by the climate mess created by developed nations, we think COP27 was a qualified success.

A success because delegates agreed on a USD 100 bn loss and damage fund — it was a key goal of Egyptian negotiators in the run-up to Sharm El Sheikh, as Amb. Mohamed Nasr and Mahmoud Mohieldin made clear. And Nasr and his team delivered it even after being told be wealthy nations it wasn’t going to happen.

And qualified because (a) USD 100 bn is not enough and (b) wealthy nations kicked the ball to next year on the question of how it gets funded. What’s more, MENA-based businesses and politicians did well lining up major agreements on projects that could help with mitigation.

And in the west:

• COP27 ends in tears and frustration: ‘The world will not thank us’ (Financial Times)
• COP27 sets up climate-damage fund for poorer nations. Wealthy countries preserve last year’s deal on cuts after big developing nations try to water it down. (Washington Post)

And so we give you today the COP Watch roundup, wherein we chart and breakdown the most significant regional climate finance agreements, projects and policies that were announced, as well as insights from some climate sector insiders.

^^ You can catch our summary guide to COP27 in the news well below.

Some of the best insights throughout COP27 came from participants in our Climate CEO Poll. We heard from business leaders spanning a range of industries (who graciously gave us some time during a grueling two-week schedule) on how they’re making the green transition in MENA possible and what they expected to get out of COP. You can catch up on them here:

• Ahmed El Hoshy, CEO of OCI NV and Fertiglobe.
• Harry Boyd-Carpenter, managing director of climate strategy and delivery at EBRD.
• Joel Van Dusen, group head of corporate and investment banking at Mashreq.
• Karim Moussa, head of private equity and asset management operations and co-CEO of EFG Hermes’ investment bank, and CEO of Vortex Energy.
• Mohamed Saad, President and CEO for NEA at Signify.
• Osama Bishai, CEO of Orascom Construction.
• Sebastien Riez, Northeast Africa and Levant Cluster President for Schneider Electric.
• Sherif El Kholy, partner and the head of MENA at Actis.

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*** A QUICK PROGRAMMING NOTE- Enterprise Climate doesn’t end with COP27 — and was never going to. We’ve been bowled over by reader response to the newest daily in the Enterprise family — you’re engaged, ambitious, and we’re honoured to write you every morning, COP or no COP. We’re building the essential publication for senior execs who work in the world’s most important industry. Enterprise Climate is published Monday through Thursday at 4am Cairo / 5am Riyadh / 6am UAE — today, when COP28 starts a year from now, and well beyond.

*** Had enough COP? Go check our wonderful World Cup primer or join our World Cup fantasy football league (code SZJ507VP). We’re giving away Enterprise mugs to the top three finishers (shipped anywhere in the world) and a special gift to whoever comes out on top.

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THE BIG CLIMATE STORY EVERYWHERE- No surprise, the USD 100 bn loss and damage fund is topping all the headlines. The creation of a “historic loss and damage fund” is huge news for our industry and it’s dueling with the lack of progress on emissions reduction as the big climate story in the international press. Outlets sang praises from countries and small island states that pushed for the fund and the “frustration” of delegates who feel the agreement doesn’t do enough to strengthen last year’s Glasgow Climate Pact. (Guardian | Reuters | New York Times | Washington Post | Bloomberg)

Similarly, the news of the fund was met with mixed reactions here, with some insiders we spoke with seeing it as a major accomplishment for EMs and developing nations, while others believing it doesn’t go nearly enough to cover the damage our part of the world will face thanks to climate change. We break down those views in greater detail in the news well below.

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WATCH THIS SPACE #1- We have some mixed news on green hydrogen: The good news? Demand among G7 countries could rise by about four to seven times compared to 2020 levels, according to a new report (pdf) by the International Renewable Energy Agency.

The less-good news? G7 members will be the “front runners” of green hydrogen deployment, the report says, as they benefit from access to capital, heavy industry presence, availability of renewable sources, an existing local green hydrogen industry and technical know-how. And with some, including the US, planning to heavily subsidize hydrogen production, MENA-based green hydrogen projects may suffer from some competition.

WATCH THIS SPACE #2- Oman and Schlumberger are eyeing geothermal projects: Schlumberger signed an agreement with Oman to help build its national geothermal energy strategy in a bid to reach the country’s net zero goals, according to a company statement. The company evaluated data from over 7k oil, gas, and water wells to identify where geothermal processes can be integrated for future installations.

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HAPPENING TODAY-

Could we be hearing updates on Dubai Islamic Bank’s green sukuk issuance today? Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) will reportedly begin its roadshow for its prospective green and sustainable sukuk issuance today, after reaching out to banks over the weekend to arrange the sale, according to a widely picked up Reuters piece on Friday that appears to have since been removed. The green sukuk will carry a five-year maturity, according to the piece.

Background: DIB had set up a new green financing framework ahead of issuing green and sustainable Shariah-compliant bonds last month. And while it is the first Islamic bank in the UAE to set up this kind of green financing framework, the GCC has become a hotbed of successful green bond issuances this year.

Advisers: Bank ABC, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, KFH Capital, HSBC, Sharjah Islamic Bank and Standard Chartered will hold investor meetings and an issue of benchmark size will follow, subject to market conditions.

MEANWHILE- Cityscape Intelligence Talks will take place from today until Wednesday, 23 November at the Dubai World Trade Center. The event will focus on highlighting the construction industry’s climate resilience efforts. You can register for the event here.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

COP27 may be over — but climate will remain the world’s largest and most important industry for decades to come. Our Enterprise Climate X Forum will see members of the business community gather at the Grand Egyptian Museum on Tuesday, 6 December 2022.

What’s the Enterprise Climate X Forum? It’s our first industry-specific conference, where CEOs, top execs, investors, bankers and development finance folks have the chance to talk about how to build a climate-centered business — and how to make sure your business continues to have access to the funds it needs to grow. You can learn more on our conference website here.

Some of the biggest names in business and finance are on board — are you? If you’re a C-suite exec, business owner, climate professional, DFI staff, investor or banker, please email us at climatexrsvp@enterprisemea.com to signal your interest, letting us know your name, title and where you work.

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Saudi Arabia’s Education Ministry will host its Global Conference on Sustainable Partnerships next Wednesday, 23 November to Thursday, 24 November in Riyadh, bringing together ministers and senior officials from the private and public sectors.

UAE will host The Big 5 Global Construction Impact Summit on Wednesday, 7 December at the Dubai World Trade Centre, bringing more than 2k exhibitors from 60 countries, as well as regional and global construction industry leaders together to discuss ways to meet local and global net zero and waste reduction targets.

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

Delegates from 200 countries concluded COP27 yesterday with a landmark agreement to create a historic loss and damage fund, helping vulnerable countries cope with climate disasters triggered by developed countries’ emissions, the COP27 presidency said in a statement (pdf).

The agreement will see developed countries pledge funds to “save lives and livelihoods from climate change related disasters” in climate-affected countries, the statement said.

The caveats: The details for the fund — including who will pay into it, who will be eligible to receive the funds, and how it will operate — have yet to be determined. A transitional committee is set to dot the i’s and cross the t’s over the next year, with the first meeting expected to take place before the end of March 2023, according to a statement.

The loss and damage fund is a significant achievement, insiders tell us: “Climate vulnerable countries demand hundreds of USD bns in climate reparations, while only hundreds of USD mns have been pledged,” general partner at the Climate Resilience Fund Hossam Allam tells Enterprise Climate. Still, “the recognition that polluting countries owe climate-damaged ones reparation is a major step forward,” he adds.

It still may not be enough: Developing countries need some USD 1.7-3.4 tn in climate finance annually for climate action, but financing currently stands at less than USD 425 bn, the IFC’s VP of cross-cutting solutions Emmanuel Nyirinkindi told Enterprise Climate on Friday. “We’re still very far away from what’s required,” notes Khalid Hamza, head of Egypt at the EBRD.

THE HOST COUNTRY TOOK HOME A “W”-

Egypt’s NWFE energy pillar could provide a model for unlocking private sector finance: The USD 500 m in low-cost, concessional funding committed to the energy pillar of Egypt’s Nexus on Water, Food and Energy (NWFE) initiative is expected to unlock over USD 10 bn in private sector finance for renewable energy plans and investments, EBRD’s Hamza tells Enterprise Climate. Both US President Joe Biden and climate envoy John Kerry noted that this is replicable and a very significant outcome of COP27, he adds. “At least there’s a good example of how to approach these issues, which is basically to think very hard about the key impediments to unlocking private sector funding,” Hamza adds. The decarbonization-focused NWFE program secured nearly USD 10 bn in funding pledges.

Other substantial funding agreements secured by Egypt include:

• Egypt and Germany inked nine agreements worth EUR 160 mn — with much of this earmarked for climate-friendly projects.
• Egypt now needs to lock in funding for the green hydrogen and wind power projects worth up to USD 119 bn that it signed initial agreements for during COP27. (Reality check: The nature of a land grab is that not every plot will be settled. It will not be surprising if a good chunk of this figure ultimately doesn’t materialize.)
• The EBRD will provide a USD 80 mn loan to get Egypt’s Fertiglobe-Scatec-OC-SFE ammonia plant up and running.
• Egypt will see some funding from the World Bank’s Climate Investment Funds out of the USD 350 mn it has pledged to invest in sustainable agriculture in emerging markets.

OTHER BIG AGREEMENTS-

#1- The US, EU and other countries, as well as MDBs, stepped up on adaptation funding:

• Half of the USD 32 bn committed in climate finance by the World Bank over the past year will be allocated to adaptation, according to president David Malpass.
• The Netherlands will contribute EUR 1.8 bn by 2025 to emerging markets and over EUR 100 mn to the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program.
• France, Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark — will provide over EUR 1 bn for climate adaptation in Africa, as a “starting point,” EU climate policy chief Frans Timmermans said last week. Other EU countries might join in later, said Timmermans.
• The US doubled its pledge to its “adaptation fund” for poorer countries to USD 100 mn, and pledged a further USD 150 mn to support climate change efforts in Africa.
• The UK is investing over GBP 100 mn to help developing countries implement climate change adaptation measures.

#2- Funding pledges for resilience or climate disasters fared well:

• More than 85 African ins. companies have joined forces to create the African Climate Risk Facility (ACRF) to underwrite USD 14 bn of cover for climate risk by 2030.
• G7 countries announced a EUR 210 mn “Global Shield” initiative that will pay out ins. to the V20 group of 58 nations most vulnerable to climate change — of which Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia, and Yemen are all members.
• The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure launched a USD 50 mn multi-partner Infrastructure Resilience Accelerator Fund to provide technical assistance and capacity building for emerging economies.
• UK Export Finance will provide sovereign loans with Climate Resilient Debt Clauses for climate-vulnerable nations, allowing low-income countries and small island developing states the chance to defer debt repayments in the event of severe climate shocks or natural disasters.

#3- There were large multi-year pledges for general climate finance:

• The UAE-based bank Mashreq plans to increase its sustainable financing to USD 30 bn by 2030.
• The Arab Coordination Group — a “strategic alliance” of regional development funds and the OPEC Fund for International Development that coordinates climate finance — pledged to provide at least USD 24 bn in climate finance by 2030.
• The EBRD and EU signed an agreement with QNB Al Ahli to provide USD 20 mn in on-lending for youth-led green MSMEs under the Green Economy Financing Facility.
• The African Union, African Development Bank Group and Africa50 launched the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa, committing some USD 500 mn in funding to help deliver another USD 10 bn in capital for green infrastructure projects on the continent.

#4- Decarbonization saw funding pledges in the USD bns:

• KSA is contributing USD 2.5 bn to its Middle East Green Initiative in the next decade.
• The International Renewable Energy Agency closed in on its USD 1 bn funding goal for its Energy Transition Accelerator Financing platform.

#5 Food security saw some of the biggest global investments:

• The US-UAE Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) doubled its investment commitments to USD 8 bn (pdf) and increased its scope.
• The IFC is launching a USD 6 bn global food security platform, targeting some at-risk Arab countries including Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya and Tunisia.
• The European Investment Bank (EIB) will lend the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development EUR 500 mn to onlend to small-scale farmers.

#6- And the region is getting in on carbon markets and credits:

• Egypt launched a USD 1 bn carbon market fund to invest in low-carbon projects that issue carbon credits.
• The EGX announced the launch of Africa’s first voluntary carbon market in mid-2023.
• US climate envoy John Kerry announced a new carbon offset plan — dubbed Energy Transition Accelerator (ETA) — to allow companies to claim carbon credits by investing in renewables projects in global growth markets.

CORRECTION- 4 December, 2022

An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the loss and damage fund will see pay-ins of USD 100 bn per year. The financial details of the fund have yet to be determined. 

The MENA region is setting up to become a hub for exports of green energy and renewables, judging by the raft of new green projects that were inked at COP27. With the slogan “COP for Implementation,” COP27 host Egypt raised hopes for the number of projects announced during the summit — and it delivered.

Green hydrogen was undoubtedly the star of the show, with at least 10 new green hydrogen plants set to be built in Egypt after final agreements are inked. The nine green hydrogen and ammonia facilities in Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone alone will collectively produce up to 7.6 mn tons of green ammonia and 2.7 mn tons of hydrogen a year when fully operational.

Saudi Arabia came in hot: The kingdom announced its 13 renewable energy projects worth a combined USD 9 bn in the pipeline, as it looked to reposition itself for a post-oil world. The projects — which include what could be one of the world’s largest green hydrogen plants — have a collective capacity of 11.3 GW, and will help reduce some 20 mn tons of carbon emissions a year, according to a Saudi Green Initiative tweet earlier this month.

The big question: How many of these MENA hydrogen plants will get built in the wake of the US Inflation Reduction Act, which includes a 10-year production tax credit of as much as USD 3 / kg of H2 produced with no emissions. And as we noted above, G7 nations are primed to build up hydrogen infrastructure faster than other countries, and there are clear questions about how much capacity there is in the supply chain to build out the renewable power and other infrastructure (think: electrolysers) needed to ramp up large-scale hydrogen projects.

The runner up? Wind power: At least five different wind farms will produce a whopping 29.5 GW of wind power in Egypt once fully operational. The biggest ones include Masdar alongside our friends at Infinity Power and Hassan Allam Utilities — who will build a 10 GW wind farm in Egypt — and Saudi renewable energy developer Acwa Power’s 10 GW wind farm in Egypt alongside the country’s state-owned electricity firms.

Carbon capture got some attention: Two Saudi giants — Aramco and mining company Ma’aden — agreed to build carbon capture and storage facilities in a huge step for the kingdom’s blue hydrogen ambitions. (Blue hydrogen is a form of zero-carbon fuel made through a process that captures its own carbon emissions — check out our explainer on the energy source here.) Aramco’s carbon capture hub is set to be one of the largest in the world, with the capacity to store up to 9 mn tons of carbon dioxide a year by 2027, while Ma’aden’s plant will capture 300k metric tons of CO2 emissions a year from the company’s three ammonia plants.

Waste management projects were also on the cards: UAE-headquartered waste management company Averda is partnering with US-headquartered low-carbon biofuels developer WasteFuel to establish a commercial-scale municipal waste-to-renewable-methanol plant in MENA. Egypt also announced it is set to sign contracts worth EGP 4.2 bn to establish sanitary landfills and waste recycling facilities for municipal waste. On another note, UK-based water tech company Hydro Industries is considering building two wastewater treatment facilities in Egypt to treat some 50 tons of industrial wastewater daily.

We have an adaptation roadmap: Egypt launched the global Sharm El Sheikh Adaptation Agenda (pdf) for collective adaptation action, in partnership with the UN climate change high-level champions — the world’s first comprehensive roadmap set to lay out a shared set of adaptation actions to meet by the end of this decade. Adaptation strategies will span food and agriculture, water and nature, coasts and oceans, human settlements, and infrastructure — and include proposed action for the all-important areas of planning and finance, the statement notes.

Methane and adaptation were the main focus of policy talks at COP27: 150 countries signed a pledge to reduce methane pollution, the US and EU announced during the climate summit. The US also unveiled a plan to cut methane emissions from its oil and gas industry to 87% below 2005 levels by 2030, as it looked to cement its leadership in the fight against climate change during the summit.

There was a boost for the transition to zero-emission vehicles: France, Spain and several corporations joined a pledge to stop sales of gasoline-run vehicles by 2035, according to a statement.

A host of other, smaller Africa-focused initiatives emerged: From the Aware (Action for water adaptation and resilience) initiative — which helps address water related challenges and solutions in water scarce countries — to the Waste 50 by 2050 Initiative, which aims to raise the recycling rate of African waste to 50% by 2050.

FOSSIL FUEL PHASEOUTS HIT A STALEMATE

The final agreement only carried forward the agreement made in COP26 to take steps towards “the phasedown of unabated coal power and phase-out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies.” The debate on fossil fuels was heated during the summit, with developed countries increasingly pushing for a transition away from the energy source while developing countries in Africa and the Gulf vocally supported a slow, low-emission transition to renewables that relies on natural gas in order to meet energy demands.

Not much was done to reduce emissions and “keep 1.5°C alive”: The emissions-reduction plans submitted ahead of COP27 take less than 1% off projected global emissions in 2030, the Independent writes, adding that this is a far cry from the 43% we need to cut to hold temperature increases to the 1.5°C limit set out by the Paris Agreement. Only a handful of countries — including the EU and Turkey — submitted new plans to reduce emissions during this year’s summit.

South Korea’s MENA green hydrogen shopping spree continues: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has inked an agreement worth some USD 6.5 bn with Korea Electric Power Corp (Kepco) and four other South Korean firms to build a hydrogen and ammonia plant, Reuters reported on Thursday citing a source with knowledge of the agreement. The South Korean firms will build and operate the plant with investments from PIF, the newswire reports citing Kepco.

The details: The facility is expected to have a generational capacity of 1.2 mn tons annually, the newswire quotes Kepco as saying. Construction is expected between 2025 and 2029 and will be operational for 20 years. The plant could be built in KSA’s Neom, South Korea’s Pulse News reports referencing undisclosed sources.

Is Acwa Power involved? What isn’t clear as of yet is whether this is related to the 1.2 mn ton per annum Neom green hydrogen production plant, which will be built by Acwa Power’s JV with Air Products. Acwa and Kepco had signed an agreement last month that would see them “partner” on a number of hydrogen projects across MENA. The Korean utilities provider wants to source 5-10 mn tons of green ammonia produced from green hydrogen for power generation by 2030, Kepco said at the time. We’re reaching out to the Saudi utilities giant for comments.

WE’RE NOT DONE WITH ACWA JUST YET-

The Tadawul-listed company will work on an ammonia and green hydrogen facility in Thailand, the Bangkok Post reports. The project will be carried out by Thai state-owned energy company PTT Plc and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand is carrying out work on the project alongside Acwa Power. Thailand and Indonesia are two markets the Saudi renewable energy company is shooting to expand as part of its global expansion, Acwa CEO Paddy Padmanathan said last month.

Meanwhile, Acwa’s partner on the Neom plant, Air Products, may export larger quantities of the region’s hydrogen to Germany. The US-based company and German-based Mabanaft will build a green hydrogen terminal in Germany to facilitate imports, according to a company statement. The project is aiming to be operational by 2026 and will be located in Hamburg’s port, facilitating the import of green ammonia from large-scale green hydrogen production facilities operated by Air Products and its partners — including Acwa Power and Neom. The EU is looking to secure a supply of 20 mn tons of renewable hydrogen by 2030.

IN OTHER GREEN HYDROGEN NEWS-

Saudi Arabia’s Al-Fanar will invest USD 1.8 bn in the first phase of a USD 4 bn green ammonia plant in Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone, according to a Daily News Egypt interview with group CIO Mishaal Al-Mutlaq last week. The company inked the MoU with the Sovereign Fund of Egypt, the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company and the New and Renewable Energy Authority in August. Phase 1 of the plant will yield 250k tons of green ammonia by 2025, Al-Mutlaq says.

UAE obtains stake in carbon trading platform: Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company obtained a stake in Singapore-based carbon trading exchange AirCarbon Exchange (ACX), according to a company statement released last week. The size of Mubadala’s stake was not disclosed, with Bloomberg previously reporting the fund would acquire at least a 20% stake in ACX citing sources in the know.

How AirCarbon Exchange works: The carbon credits trading platform is built on blockchain tech and will soon launch the world’s first fully regulated carbon trading exchange with help from the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), according to a company statement.

What they said: “This transaction will strengthen the UAE’s competitiveness on the world stage, while driving forward a future-focused sector that is vital to the UAE’s decarbonization journey,” executive director of UAE Clusters at Mubadala Investment Company Badr Al Olama said in the statement.

The timeline: ADGM is set to launch the carbon market “in a matter of weeks,” Bloomberg reports quoting ADGM’s head of sustainable finance Mercedes Vela Monserrate.

Not just going East: Mubadala acquired stakes in German offshore wind developer Skyborn Renewables and US offshore project Bluepoint Wind last month. Mubadala is the latest in a string of GCC sovereign wealth funds buying up stakes in US and EU based renewable energy companies.

EGYPT TO LAUNCH CARBON MARKET IN MID-2023-

Egypt plans to launch Africa’s first voluntary carbon market in mid-2023, Egyptian Exchange (EGX) chairman Ramy El Dokany said during a press conference last week. The bourse is close to finalizing contracts with a Canadian fintech to supply the technology for the carbon credit platform, El Dokany said. “We want to build an African OPEC for carbon that can regulate and standardize prices,” he added.

Don’t expect traction for a couple years: Auditing and verification alone takes at least 18 months to complete, El Dokany said, adding that the sector-agnostic platform’s target will be to issue some 7 mn tons of local credits in Egypt within the first three to four years. The process will need some form of “disruption” — whether through tech or by setting up local verifiers — to be able to scale, he explained.

Egypt also got a EGP 1 bn carbon credit fund: Egypt’s Planning Minister Hala El Said launched a fund — EgyCOP — that will invest up to EGP 1 bn in low-carbon projects that issue carbon credits, according to a statement on Thursday. The statement does not specify what industries it will be focusing its investments on — but El Said name-checked sectors like transport, energy, waste, and biodiversity. The companies will have their credits verified by Gold Standard.

And there are still a lot of details to iron out: The regulatory framework for the market is still pending the cabinet’s review, El Dokany said. Enterprise AM has more on the story.