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Wednesday, 16 November 2022

TODAY: Egypt lands USD 83 bn worth of green hydrogen and ammonia projects + Empower’s shares rise 2.23% on first day of trading

Good morning, nice people. It’s day 10 of the summit and all eyes are on the delegates hammering out details on a possible agreement in the run up to Friday.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY? It’s largely the same as yesterday, really: Word on the street is that frustrations are rising, but COP27 President Sameh Shoukry is optimistic the summit will reach an agreement — although discussions could extend past Friday.

Shoukry told Bloomberg in a televised interview that climate finance is at the top of the agenda for negotiators with the aim of coming up with an agreement that “satisfies the interest of all parties, but also leads to greater ambition and climate action.”

^^We have the full story in the news well, below.

Speaking of climate finance- Look out for Egypt launching its voluntary carbon market through an alliance between the Sovereign Fund of Egypt and the private sector, according to Planning Minister Hala El Said (watch, runtime: 13:54).

MEANWHILE- It’s Biodiversity Day in Sharm, with sessions focusing on the impact of climate change on biodiversity, with a particular focus on oceans, endangered species, and coral reefs.

UP NEXT: Solutions day is tomorrow.

Detailed schedule: Download as a pdf here or check out the website here.

COP27 app for attendees: App Store and the Google Play Store.

LOTS OF ENERGY NEWS FROM COP-

WATCH THIS SPACE #1- GE, Hassan Allam Construction project shows we can use hydrogen to lower the carbon footprint of natural gas-fired power generation. In a first for Africa, the Sharm El Sheikh Power Plant is using hydrogen-natural gas blended fuel, according to a statement (pdf). The project is proof that hydrogen, while more difficult to transport and store than natural gas, can be used for on-site power generation.

Why this matters, part I- It proves gas turbines can be run with a lower carbon footprint, taking advantage of “the growth of variable renewables by providing on-demand electricity to

firm the grid.” The statement did not say how much the blend cut the plant’s carbon footprint.

Why this matters, part II- It’s also proof that it’s possible to start to decarbonize conventional generation capacity that’s already in place today: The GE-Hassan Allam project saw engineers adapt an already-installed GE LM6000 at the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company's Sharm plant to run on hydrogen-blended fuel, “highlighting that today’s gas power generation assets can be a destination technology, not just a bridging technology, as the world scales up the production of hydrogen,” the statement said.

Who’s responsible: The project was implemented in less than five months by the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company, GE, Hassan Allam Construction, and Pgesco.

WATCH THIS SPACE #2- Egypt has a low-carbon hydrogen strategy. Egypt announced its strategy for low-carbon hydrogen on the sidelines of COP27, a statement by the Oil Ministry said. Details on the strategy were scarce, but minister Tarek El Molla said that Egypt is home to key components for the industry that will allow it to shore up its energy security while cutting its environmental footprint.

WATCH THIS SPACE #3- Our friends at Actis have appetite for African energy: The emerging markets private equity giant could be pouring up to USD 300 mn annually into renewables in Africa, Lisa Pinsley, Actis’ head of energy in the Middle East and Africa, told Reuters. “We could be looking at investing USD 200 to USD 300 mn a year if the opportunity presents itself,” she said. Actis also has plans to invest in gas infrastructure and gas-fired power projects, she said, but stressed that the firm would not invest in any liquid fuel or oil and gas exploration and production projects in the continent.

WATCH THIS SPACE #4- Saudi oil company Aramco is earmarking “multiple bns of USD” to become a major blue hydrogen exporter and plans to begin start selling blue ammonia to Asia by 2027, Aramco CTO Ahmad Al Khowaiter told Bloomberg. Export discussions with Japan and South Korea are the ones “farthest along,” according to Al Khowaiter. Aramco had sent test cargoes totaling 40 tons of blue ammonia to Japan in September, according to a company statement.

enterprise

From Sharm to the Grand Egyptian Museum — the business community will move the talk about a green transition ahead at the Enterprise Climate X Forum, which takes place at the Grand Egyptian Museum on Tuesday, 6 December 2022. We can think of no better place to discuss the world’s most important industry than in a world-class museum that stands as a testament to our nation’s ability to persevere (and innovate) for seven millennia. And it seems you can’t either, judging by the responses and statements of support we’ve been getting.

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.


THE TWO BIG GLOBAL CLIMATE STORIES on this fine November morning:

#1- The presidents of the US and Indonesia unveiled the “world’s largest climate finance agreement” — a pact that will see the United States give the Southeast Asian nation USD 20 bn to have it “pivot away from coal,” Bloomberg reports. The agreement will see Indonesia cap emissions from both the power grid and for captive generation capacity supplying industrial plants and commit to having renewables account for more than a third of its generation capacity by 2030. US President Joe Biden and Indonesia’s Joko Widodo unveiled the agreement late yesterday.

#2- US, CHINA TO RESTART CLIMATE TALKS- US climate envoy John Kerry met yesterday with his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua at COP in Sharm, raising hope for the resumption of climate talks between the world’s top polluters, AP reported. The two met for about 45 minutes, but said little of substance afterward. “We had a very good meeting,” Kerry said, adding that it was “much too early” to speak about the remaining differences. “But we’re gonna go to work,” he said. There was no comment by Chinese officials following the meeting.

The sit-down comes one day after US President Joe Biden and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed to “empower key senior officials to maintain communication and deepen constructive efforts” on transnational challenges, including climate change, global economic stability, and global food security, according to a White House readout.

MEANWHILE- “World’s largest floating offshore wind farm” begins production: Power production from the Hywind Tampen floating offshore wind farm began earlier this week, Norwegian energy firm Equinor announced. Seven of eleven turbines at the wind farm are set to come on stream this year, with the last four turbines slated to be installed next year. Once completed, the mega wind farm will have a system capacity of 88 MW and deliver energy to offshore oil and gas infrastructure.

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THE DANGER ZONE-

#1- Is the auto industry on a “collision course” with 1.5°C? The world’s biggest manufacturers of combustion engine vehicles are on track to overshoot the carbon emission budget that’s required to meet the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C by 2050, according to a report (pdf) by NGO Greenpeace. The research — based on sales projections from automotive giants Toyota, GM Volkswagen, and Hyundai / Kia — found that, at its current trajectory, the industry will sell nearly double the number of cars the planet could handle by 2040 if we are to meet the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, the outfit said in a statement.

#2- As the global population ballooned past 8 bn yesterday, the UN issued stark warnings on dwindling resources on their website. The population will increase by another 2.4 bn by the 2080s, according to UN projections — with the most growth in sub-Saharan Africa, where countries are also among the “most vulnerable to climate change and most in need of climate finance,” Reuters reports.

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CHART OF THE DAY- Conscientious decoupling: With some 80% of the world’s energy still powered by fossil fuels, increases in CO2 emissions are generally viewed as a necessary evil for economic development, prosperity and poverty reduction — but over 30 countries successfully managed to slash emissions while maintaining economic growth, according to Vox citing Our World in Data. This chart tracked 25 of these countries between 2005 and 2019 to show “absolute decoupling” — when environmental pressures are stable or decreasing while economic prosperity is growing. These “are not just per capita measures; we’re talking about total emissions and total economies here,” the news outlet notes.

How have countries managed this “absolute uncoupling”? New tech lowering the price of renewables, regulations on air pollution, and carbon pricing were key steps, Vox reports.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Saudi Arabia’s Education Ministry will host the Global Conference on Sustainable Partnerships on 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.

Enterprise Climate is available without charge thanks to the generous support of HSBC (tax ID: 204-901-715), the leading corporate and retail lender in Egypt; and Infinity Power (tax ID: 305-170-682), the leading generator and distributor of renewable energy in Africa and the Middle East. Enterprise Climate is delivered Mon-Thurs before 4 am UAE time. Were you forwarded this copy? Sign up for your own delivery at climate.enterprise.press. Contact us on climate@enterprisemea.com.