Good morning, ladies and gents. If you’re still in disbelief at Saudi Arabia’s spectacular 2-1 victory over Lionel Messi’s Argentina, you’re not the only one. The most underdog W in World Cup history was the cherry on top of a great showing by MENA countries, with a shout out Tunisia for giving Denmark a run for their money.

So: Happy victory day, friends in KSA — enjoy the day off: Saudi Arabia has declared a national holiday today for schools and the public and private sectors to celebrate.

We also wish Morocco — the last MENA country to play its first game — all the best today in its match with Croatia, which takes place at 10am UAE time.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY- It’s another good day for regional green bond issuances: Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) tapped debt markets yesterday with a USD 750 mn maiden sustainable sukuk sale that was almost 2x oversubscribed. Reports had emerged earlier in the week that DIB would kickstart a roadshow on Monday, a month after the bank issued its green financing framework. The issue sees the trend of GCC institutions selling green debt continue unabated despite EM bonds continuing to take a beating.

ALSO- One hydrogen to rule them all? The rainbow of hydrogen got a little bigger with UK-based start-up HiiROC claiming it has developed a process that can produce hydrogen cheaper and cleaner than all the other colors together.

^^ We have chapter and verse on these stories and more in the news well, below.

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The Enterprise Climate X Forum is fast approaching, and we’re incredibly excited to meet with some of you in Cairo at the Grand Egyptian Museum on Tuesday, 6 December 2022. We get underway with a networking breakfast at 8am CLT.

What’s on the table? CEOs, execs, bankers and development finance folks will mull over a variety of topics, including:

• What’s this green hydrogen mumbo-jumbo you speak of?
• How are leaders building green businesses — from scratch, or as retrofits to decades-old family enterprises?
• How do we pay for it all?
• What do you really think of the green economy?

With that in mind, we’ll be dropping little notices in stories and topics we intend to explore more of at the forum. Study up if you’re coming.

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. You can learn more on our conference website here.

YOU MUST REGISTER TO ATTEND by clicking the link on your registration email. Attendance is by invitation only. You’ll need a special QR code to gain access to the GEM on event day. Didn’t receive your registration email? Check your spam folder and then email climatexrsvp@enterprisemea.com if it’s still not there.

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WATCH THIS SPACE #1- Russia is eyeing more nuclear on the continent: Russian nuclear giant Rosatom is reportedly in talks with several African countries and has concluded first agreements for future projects, according to statements picked up by India’s DaijiWorld. The company expects to see demand from several “newcomer countries” over the next two or three decades, the statements cite Rosatom director general Alexey Likhachev as saying. Rosatom is already building multi-bn USD nuclear plants in several countries in Asia and the Middle East, including Egypt and Turkey..

WATCH THIS SPACE #2- Iraq wants to invest in solar plants across all its governorates as part of a wider plan to diversify its energy sources and become a key energy player, Iraq’s electricity ministry spokesperson Ahmed Moussa told the Iraqi News Agency. He did not give further details on timeline, mechanism or the type of program the government has in mind.

WATCH THIS SPACE #3- More funds for Egypt’s NWFE: The China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has signed a partnership agreement with Egypt for the implementation of the energy pillar in the country’s Nexus on Water, Food and Energy (NWFE), the bank said in a statement. There is no disclosure on the nature of or an exact figure for the funds. The NWFE initiative — which is expected to unlock over USD 15 bn in private sector finance for renewable energy plans and investments — has already secured nearly USD 10 bn in funding pledges.

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THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- The great debate continues: Climate activists are concerned over the influence of oil producers in climate talks as the UAE — one of the world’s biggest oil producers — gears up to take the COP baton next year, the Guardian reports. Fossil fuel producers were criticized by many during COP27 to have “stonewalled” talks and pushed for the removal of a fossil fuel phaseout declaration in the final text. Saudi Arabia in particular has been the subject of several long features, giving a critical look at the kingdom’s “strategy” to continue producing and investing in oil while investing in a massive renewables push at home to export more of the oil abroad. (Financial Times | Bloomberg | New York Times)

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YOU’RE READING ENTERPRISE CLIMATE, the essential MENA publication for senior execs who care about the world’s most important industry. We’re out Monday through Thursday at 4am Cairo / 5am Riyadh / 6am UAE.

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HAPPENING TODAY-

Saudi Arabia’s Education Ministry will host its Global Conference on Sustainable Partnerships today and tomorrow in Riyadh, bringing together ministers and senior officials from the private and public sectors.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Oman will host a green hydrogen summit on Monday, 5 December to 7 December at Oman’s Convention and Exhibition Center in Muscat. The summit will discuss all aspects of the hydrogen value chain including production, transportation, and storage challenges.

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.