Good morning, friends. If the dearth of big climate news in our neighborhood and the rest of the world is any indication, we’re well on our way to the typical end-of-year holiday news slowdown.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY- We have a couple of stories getting ink as we slide into 2023. Morocco’s House of Representatives unanimously approved a bill allowing citizens to generate, store, and sell their own electricity from renewables and Fotowatio Renewable Ventures Australia — a subsidiary of KSA’s Abdul Latif Jameel Energy and Environmental Services — reached financial close on its 10th Australian renewables project, a 300 MWac solar farm in New South Wales after securing a green loan.

ALSO- Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is eyeing a USD 250 mn stake in Saudi Tabreed.

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

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- We’re experiencing the end of year news slowdown today, with no big climate story dominating international press coverage. Instead, some outlets are doing a general climate news round-up. Climate and sustainability regulation saw its biggest ever push in 2022, with policymakers determined to clamp down on corporate greenwashing, Reuters notes. 2022 also saw links strengthen between climate policy, trade, and geopolitics as soaring energy prices heightened the urgency of the renewables shift and trade tensions mounted in the wake of the US Inflation Reduction Act — which will heavily subsidize US-made products to boost climate action — Bloomberg notes.

Outlets are also looking at key environmental concerns that will continue to drive the green conversation in 2023. The Alliance to End Plastic Waste — whose core funding sources include petrochemical giants like ExxonMobil — has “barely made a dent” in its professed goal of removing 15 mn tons of plastic from the environment over five years, an investigation by Bloomberg Green has found. And while scientists and conservationists welcomed this week’s “landmark” COP15 agreement, it’s also drawing criticism for a lack of concrete language around some targets and for not addressing many of the underlying drivers of biodiversity loss, according to the Financial Times.

WATCH THIS SPACE #1- Asset managers will have to disclose their environmental footprint post-COP15, Bloomberg reports.The penning of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework agreement — signed by some 196 countries on Monday — will see nations committing to the protection of 30% of the planet’s oceans and lands by 2030. The agreement “is a signal the financial community cannot ignore,” global head of sustainable investment at Schroders Plc. Andy Howard told the newswire.

REFRESHER- The Montreal-Kunming pact includes 23 targets aimed at the elimination, phasing out, or reform of environmentally harmful subsidies by a minimum of USD 500 bn each year by 2030. We have the full rundown of the agreement here.

WATCH THIS SPACE #2- KSA’s Public Investment Fund is eyeing a USD 250 mn stake in Saudi Tabreed, Bloomberg reports, citing sources close to the matter. The acquisition would give Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund a stake in the local arm of UAE-listed National Central Cooling Company ahead of an anticipated IPO in the next 2-3 years. Saudi Tabreed is co-owned by Saudi Arabia’s Vision Invest, UAE public joint stock company Tabreed, IDB Infrastructure Fund II, and Riyadh-based Almutlaq Group. The size of the stake remains undisclosed.

WATCH THIS SPACE #3- Saudi Arabia is running two pilot programs to store carbon in rocks, according to a statement. The programs use mineralization technology to capture CO2 from Jazan Economic City and combine it with water from the Red Sea to mineralize it. The technology will enable the Kingdom to potentially store more than 1k years worth of carbon emissions underground, according to an associate professor at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). KSA is also exploring geothermal energy — a renewable source of energy that generates heat within the earth — with a series of experimental wells being dug on KAUST’s premises. Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia announced that it is designing its first direct capture plant. Saudi Arabia is also exploring mining to leverage on energy-transition minerals and metals.

PSA- The UAE’s First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) has launched a new sustainability-focused current account for its corporate clients, according to a WAM statement. The funds held in these accounts will be used to invest in projects that meet the sustainability criteria of FAB’s Sustainable Finance Framework, the statement notes.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR- Saudi Arabia will host the International Conference on Water Resources and Arid Environments next Monday, 26 December and Tuesday, 27 December in Riyadh. The conference will include panels on enhancing water conservation efforts, utilizing tech to maximize management of water resources, combating desertification and upscaling biodiversity efforts. You can register for the event here.

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.