Good morning, nice people. It’s day 11 of the summit and as the clock ticks down, there’s no clear agreement on a cover decision in sight.

“I think we have a larger than normal number of lingering issues,” COP27 presidency special representative Wael Aboulmagd was reported by Reuters as saying yesterday. “We would have hoped under the current circumstances to see more willingness to cooperate and accommodate than we are seeing.”

There are at least three stumbling blocks: Loss and damage, fossil fuel usage, and the 1.5°C warming target. There are “deep divisions” among countries on whether wealthy countries should commit to providing funding to cover loss and damage — an issue that emerging markets have been driving (and rich countries dodging) for some time now. COP27 was the first time the climate summit has formally debated the issue. Countries are also reportedly struggling to agree on whether 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels should remain the “explicit targeted limit” for warming and the phase out of fossil fuels— although yesterday’s announcement of G20 support for that goal could increase the chances of consensus at COP, Reuters quoted an unnamed EU official saying.

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

And the timeline to avoid 1.5°C of warming? We’re on track to hit it in nine years’ time, according to Nature reports, citing research by the Global Carbon Project, given that global carbon emissions are on track to hit a new record of 37.5 bn tons of CO2 equivalent in 2022 — up 1% from 2021 levels.

ALSO- An Amazonian COP30? Brazil’s president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told delegates at COP27 that he wants his country to host 2025’s COP30 in the Amazon rainforest, Reuters reports.

MEANWHILE- It’s solutions day in Sharm, with sessions focusing on accelerating climate change adaptation through innovation, green bonds and carbon markets, resilient health systems, lots of loss and damage, and entrepreneurship.

UP NEXT: Tomorrow is closing day at COP27, with two press briefings in the lineup.

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

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

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.

WATCH THIS SPACE- Neom may be getting a green hydrogen + ammonia plant: A South Korean energy consortium will reportedly sign an MoU today with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) to build a USD 6.5 bn green hydrogen and ammonia plant in Neom city, South Korea’s Pulse News reports. The public-private partnership will develop the project over five stages, and the plant is expected to yield 1.2 mn tonnes of green hydrogen and ammonia annually.

Not the first: Acwa Power, Neom, and Air Products are all part of a joint venture to develop “the world’s largest utility scale, commercially-based hydrogen facility powered entirely by renewable energy,” according to Acwa Power. KSA also has ambitions to export green hydrogen to Greece and, by extension, Europe.

DATA POINT- Over 50% of cities globally with net zero reporting pledges have no mechanisms in place to track and report their progress, according to analysis published this week by Net Zero Tracker.

Companies are doing a bit better — but still have a lot of room for improvement: Around 75% of the world’s largest 2k publicly-listed companies with net zero pledges have reporting mechanisms of some kind, but “only one-third of the world’s largest publicly-listed companies with net zero targets, meet minimum standards of integrity.”

The bottom line: Pledges alone aren’t enough. Many pledges from state and non-state actors have yet to be firmed up into concrete plans of action that are publicly available and trackable for accountability, the authors say. “Net zero pledges alone are not a sign of climate leadership — they must be accompanied by a deep emission reductions commitment to be meaningful.”

THE DANGER ZONE- Red Sea corals at risk? Egypt’s Ras Shukeir oil terminal is reportedly dumping “barely treated wastewater” in the Red Sea and endangering coral reefs, the BBC reports, citing what it says are leaked documents and analysis of satellite imagery from the area.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

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.

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