Good morning, friends, and welcome to a busy day for climate in our neck of the woods. We’ve got an accidental hydrogen issue for you today — let’s jump right in.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY- Neom signs financing agreements for green hydrogen plant: The Neom Green Hydrogen Company signed facility agreements with Saudi and international banks for Neom’s USD 5 bn green hydrogen project. It expects to achieve financial close for the project early in 2023.

ALSO- Saudi-Korean JV Fuel Cell Innovations wants to invest USD 115 mn in hydrogen fuel cell production by 2027. The company recently announced that it would construct a new gigafactory in Pohang, targeting the production of 1 GW-worth of fuel cells every year.

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

WATCH THIS SPACE- Saudi Arabia is interested in participating in the export of green electricity from Azerbaijan to Europe, Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al Falih said at the joint commission on cooperation between the two countries in Baku yesterday, Azerbaijani news outlet Trend reported. The leaders of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Hungary, and Romania signed an agreement on Saturday in Romania’s Bucharest to build an underwater electric cable that would go under the Black Sea, marking “a step towards creating a corridor for green energy,” according to Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.

KSA already has a foot in the door in Azerbaijan — but it wants more: Saudi’s Acwa Power is currently developing a 240 MW wind farm in Azerbaijan, with reported investment of USD 300 mn — said to be the “first and largest foreign investment” in the country’s renewable energy sector. “However, this is not enough,” Al Falih was noted as saying yesterday. “We would like to implement larger energy projects and join the agreement signed a few days ago by Azerbaijan on the export of electricity to Europe,” he added.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- Guterres wants a “no-nonsense” climate summit next fall: UN Secretary General António Guterres intends to hold a “climate ambition summit” in September 2023 to spur more urgent, tangible action on climate change from government, business and civil society leaders, he announced yesterday. Promising a “no-nonsense” summit, Guterres warned that “there will be no room for backsliders, greenwashers, blame-shifters or repackaging of announcements of previous years.” Guterres noted that he would continue with calls he made at COP27 for a “climate solidarity pact” to increase emissions reduction efforts, spur the energy transition and help vulnerable countries adapt to climate change. (Guardian | Reuters | AP)

ALSO- Investors call for bigger emissions slashing from Big Oil this decade: Dutch shareholder activist group Follow This has filed shareholder resolutions with the world’s biggest oil companies to make more substantial emissions cuts this decade in motions that it said have been co-sponsored by investors with some EUR 1.3 tn (USD 1.4 tn) assets under management, it said in a statement yesterday. The motions, submitted to Shell, BP, ExxonMobil, and Chevron, asked the companies to align their 2030 emissions targets with the goals of the Paris Climate Accords by reducing indirect emissions in their value chain. (Financial Times | Reuters | Bloomberg)

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

UAE renewable energy firm Masdar will host Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week from Saturday, 14 January to Saturday, 21 January. The event will gather eight presidents and prime ministers and 30k participants in a series of conferences and summits including the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Forum, the World Future Energy Summit, Masdar’s Green Hydrogen Summit, The International Renewable Energy Agency’s Youth Forum, and the Abu Dhabi Sustainable Finance Forum.

The UAE is hosting the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Forum on Saturday, 14 January and Sunday, 15 January in Abu Dhabi. The forum will discuss the ongoing global energy crisis and its impact on the green transition, energy security, and decarbonization.

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