Good morning, wonderful people. If you’re working in one corner of the MENA renewables industry, are you getting ready to attend one of the many events happening today?

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY- The region’s awash in climate investment: Saudi Arabia will be building a USD 378 mn cogeneration plant in partnership with South Korean companies. Oman’s OQ Group has received some interest from equity investors to buy a stake in the 100 MW Liwa solar plant, and Emirates Steel Arkan is partnering with Japanese companies to “greenify” the UAE’s steel industry. We have chapter and verse on these stories and more in the news well below.

KUDOS- KSA is kicking in c. USD 10 mn in funding in a bid to prevent a a catastrophic oil spill in the Red Sea. The problem: a now-decrepit oil tanker named the FSO Safer that Yemen’s government had been using to store oil. KSrelief chief Abdullah Al Rabiah signed an MoU agreeing on the funding on Saturday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the agency noted in a Sunday statement. The UN has been seeking USD 75 mn in funding to get phase one of the tanker salvage operation off the ground, in a bid to avoid a >USD 20 bn cleanup operation, we noted last week.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- The UK’s opposition Labour party is pulling no punches in its criticism of current government climate action — with vows to do better. UK shadow chancellor Rachel Re{eves yesterday pledged that a Labour government would spend GBP 8 bn (some USD 8.5 bn) co-investing in green projects with private companies in a speech at the party’s annual conference in Liverpool, the Guardian reports. Reeves criticized the plan by new UK Prime Minister Liz Truss to lift a three-year ban on fracking in England — one of several energy supply reforms aimed at securing energy independence amid fallout from the Russia-Ukraine war. “With Labour, [fracking] will not happen,” said Reeves. (Reuters | Independent | Financial Times)

This comes as the UK government announced that it’s launching an independent review into how it can deliver on its commitment to reach net zero by 2050. The review will focus on maximizing economic growth while increasing energy security and affordability, the government announced in a statement yesterday. It will be submitted to the government by the end of the year.

SOUND PLUGGED IN- The GBP hit an all-time low yesterday against the greenback. The news is all over UK media as well as the global financial press.

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THE COUNTDOWN TO COP-

Most of the world did not deliver on COP26 climate action targets (CAT) — even at the most basic level, the independent CAT Climate Target Update Tracker revealed yesterday. Countries had a deadline of last Friday to turn their plans to slash greenhouse gas emissions (called “nationally determined contributions,” or NDCs) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). With less than 39 days before COP27, only 19 of the 193 countries that promised more ambitious targets in Glasgow last year submitted NDCs at all.

The MENA region was not among them, with the tracker showcasing a naughty list of countries that failed their targets. Some notable mentions: Egypt got a “highly insufficient” rating for not setting specific targets — and for making its goal contingent on foreign support. Tunisia’s NDCs do not fall within the scope of CAT and were therefore not assessed, while the UAE’s NDC analysis is still pending.

SMART POLICY? By making goals contingent on foreign support, Egypt is drawing a line under COP27 czar Mahmoud Mohieldin’s point that emerging markets did not cause the climate crisis — but are now being asked to pay to fix it after advanced economies have reaped the benefits of having nuked the environment for centuries. You can read more about Mohieldin’s views in our two-part interview here and here.

What’s this “CAT” and and who put them in charge? To answer your last question first: Nobody. But they’re still worth a look. CAT bills itself as an independent scientific watchdog that claims to track “all the biggest emitters and a representative sample of smaller emitters covering about 85% of global emissions and approximately 70% of global population.” It is backed by a bunch of nonprofits that you can read more about here.

HAPPENING TODAY- We have a number of two-day events that are kicking off today:

Our friends at HSBC are hosting an energy transition webinar series today, which will run until Thursday. 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.

WANT MORE on the region’s energy transition? Catch this op-ed in EnterpriseAM by HSBC’s Group Head, Center of Sustainable Finance and Head of Climate Change Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, Zoe Knight, on the capital that’s needed to help drive that shift.

The Wetex and Dubai solar show will also kick off today at the Dubai World Trade Center (DWTC). One thing to look out for during the event is Dubai-based water conservation solutions company Dake Rechsand, which will be discussing ‘Sponge City technology’ at the two-day event.

SOUND SMART- What exactly are sponge cities? 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, as we previously explained.

The two-day Africa-France Forum for Ecological and Energy Transition starts today and will run through Thursday at the Four Seasons Hotel in Gammarth, Tunis, Tunisia. The gathering will see representatives from MENA countries, including Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt and Libya, showcase the environmental challenges in their respective countries and will spotlight the renewable energy solutions they plan to use to solve these challenges, the French Embassy in Tunisia says. Organizers include the French Agency for the Environment and Energy Management (ADEME) and Business France with support from Schneider Electric.

ALSO TODAY (and also in Tunis)- The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD) BoD will arrive to meet with members of cabinet to “gain first-hand experience of the country’s economic and political development,” according to an EBRD statement. Renewables and the green transition are key to the EBRD’s regional strategy, EBRD President Odile Renaud told Enterprise last year. Earlier this month, the EBRD earmarked over USD 1 bn for the Egyptian government’s Nexus on Water, Food and Energy (NWFE) program. It stands to reason that discussions in Tunisia would involve some talk on climate funding.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

Conference season is ramping up to a fever pitch. Among the regional climate events taking place this week:

• Dubai will host the World Green Economy Summit on 28-29 September. (Register).
• Fitch Solutions is hosting a webinar on Saudi Arabia’s energy transformation next Thursday, 29 September. (Register).
• The Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS) will be taking place from 28-30 September in Pittsburgh, US. The event is co-chaired by the UAE’s Industry and Advanced Technology Ministry and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, and will see the participation of Sanad, ICT Fund, Etihad Rail and Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA). (Register).

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