Good morning, wonderful people. We take back what we said yesterday about the news drought — we have a big issue this morning packed with regional green news, so let’s jump right into it.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY in our corner of the world has to be hydrogen as backers of the emerging technology position it as part of the solution to our energy transition:

• Blue hydrogen appears to have taken a lead in the GCC (however temporary?) over green hydrogen agreements;
• Egypt looks set to unveil new framework agreements for green hydrogen projects during COP27, building in momentum it established with MoUs in the past months./

AND- There’s news this morning of yet another GCC investment in a green asset in the west as Wafra takes a majority stake in US solar producer Mission Clean Energy.

PLUS- Qatar has inaugurated the 800 MW Al Kharsaah solar plant. Built at a cost of QAR 1.7 bn (USD 470 mn), the plant is expected to meet 10% of the country’s peak electricity demand.

^^ We’ve got chapter and verse on those stories and more in the news well, below.

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COUNTDOWN TO COP (18 days to go)-

We’re seeing an increase in environmental awareness stunts pre-COP27. UN “Patron of the Oceans” (we’re not kidding — that the name of the gig) Lewis Pugh is swimming across the Red Sea to highlight its endangered coral reefs before COP27. Pugh started his 160 km swim from Saudi Arabia to Egypt’s Hurghada on 11 October and is expected to arrive in a week. In a tweet, Pugh called upon world leaders to take bold action at COP27 as coral reefs are being destroyed by warming oceans.

And then there’s the cyclists: In a bit to draw attention to the problem of litter, Yusef Ahmed, Galal Zekri, retired ambassador Mohamed Elewa, and Wolfgang Hohmann will be pedaling 655 km from Cairo to Sharm El Sheikh. German Ambassador to Cairo Frank Hartmann met some of the cyclists before they set out on 14 October, an embassy statement notes.

^^ Publicity bids or not, both are a hell of a lot more constructive than the bozos gluing themselves to works of art across Europe to draw attention to climate.

WORTH READING- Egypt may be gearing up for COP27, but the conference doesn’t register with the informal garbage collectors known as the zabbaleen, who recycle over 85% the waste produced in Cairo, the National reported yesterday. Very few inhabitants of “Garbage City” — where collecting and recycling rubbish is a thriving economy — are aware COP27 is even taking place, it found.

We’ve already seen the Zabbaleen reluctant to integrate into Egypt’s government-led green initiatives. After the ratification of Egypt’s new Waste Management Act in October 2020, the government started securing contracts with the private sector to collect, treat, recycle and dispose of waste — with plans to integrate the zabbaleen into the system as employees of private sector contractors. But some in the zabbaleen community are resisting thepush to “formalize an informal sector,” we reported last July.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- BlackRock is setting up a unit to invest in the green transition, Reuters reported on Monday, citing a company memo. The USD 8 tn asset manager’s Transition Capital will apparently work with portfolio managers and BlackRock’s capital markets team to target green transition projects. Headed by McKinsey’s former head of sustainability, the team will develop funds and new investment strategies and expand BlackRock’s research in clean energy transition tech.

REMEMBER- BlackRock boss Larry Fink has better things to do than atten COP27, as we noted last week.

ALSO- Is Stellantis walking back on its green record? Stellantis CEO wants to renegotiate the EU’s proposed 2035 ban on fossil fuels cars, the company’s chief executive Carlos Tavares said at a news conference on the sidelines of the Paris Motor Show on Monday, Reuters writes. Earlier this year, the EU effectively banned the sale of new fossil fuel vehicles — including hybrids — from 2035.

Why? Switching to EVs is expensive for consumers… Tavares cited unmanageable “social consequences” to the decision to ban combustion vehicles, claiming that a forced transition to EVs will make car ownership unaffordable for many people, proposing that hybrids be given a role in the transition to zero-emissions vehicles.

Sending mixed messages: Tavares also reiterated the company’s commitment to carbon neutrality by 2038, according to a Stellantis statement. Earlier this month, Stellantis and Siemens announced a partnership to upscale EV last mile delivery infrastructure in MENA and last year, it began producing EVs at its Kenitra plant in Morocco.

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY- Saudi is looking at renewable energy investments in South Africa. Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa inked agreements and MoUs worth more than USD 15 bn during the latter’s visit to Jeddah earlier this week, the countries said in a joint statement this week. While the statement does not mention the areas involved in the agreements, the pair did discuss cooperation in solar, wind and atomic energy. Saudi renewable energy powerhouse ACWA Power had announced it was eyeing investments worth at least USD 10 bn in South Africa’s renewables sector in the coming five years.

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Enterprise Climate is published at 4am CLT / 5am Riyadh / 6am UAE Monday through Thursday by Enterprise, the folks who bring you Enterprise Egypt, your essential 6am and 3pm read on business, finance, policy and economy in Egypt and emerging markets.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The International Exhibition of Renewable Energies Clean Energies and Sustainable Development will run from 24-26 October in Oran, Algeria. The event will focus on the role of startups in the green transition and the bankability of renewable energy projects.

ADIPEC will run from 31 October to 1 November in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Some 40 ministers from around the world, including eight from MENA, will attend the event. Those include energy and oil ministers from the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Egypt. Discussions will partly focus on the transition toward carbon neutrality, a statement picked up by Zawya details. You can register as an exhibitor here, and as an attendee here.

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