TODAY: A US firm has snapped up a majority stake in a Moroccan waste-to-energy plant
Good morning, nice people. The news slowdown continues as the week wraps up, but we have a couple of stories from Morocco and Jordan making headlines.
Enterprise Climate will be taking a publication holiday tomorrow in observance of Egyptian Police Day and the 25 January Revolution and will be back in your inboxes at the usual time on Monday, 30 January.
THE BIG CLIMATE STORY- US firm Clean-Seas is acquiring a 51% stake in Morocco’s Ecosynergie Group, after the two companies agreed to jointly develop a commercial scale waste plastic-to-energy facility last year.
^^We have more on this story and more in the news well, below.
THE BIG CLIMATE STORIES OUTSIDE THE REGION… are actually not climate-friendly. South Africa has seen the worst of its power shortages, but careful consumption is still needed, says outgoing CEO of state power company Eskom Andre De Ruyter. South Africa’s power outage crisis — which earlier this month saw households without electricity for up to ten hours a day — is “receding,” thanks to recent maintenance work, De Ruyter says. But with power cuts set to continue for at least another two years, South African citizens need to reduce their usage where possible, De Ruyter added.
Regulatory constraints impeding private sector renewable energy provision are among the key reasons for the country’s power deficit, along with aging coal-based infrastructure, corruption and criminal activity. Eskom consumes some 90 metric tons of coal yearly to generate electricity, according to South Africa’s Energy Ministry. The story is getting some coverage: Reuters | Bloomberg
And speaking of highly-polluting fuel, Norway plans to auction a record number of oil and gas blocks in the Arctic. The country plans to offer a total of 92 oil and gas blocks in both the Norwegian and the Barents Seas to energy firms. The country’s exploration offerings in the Barents Sea are the highest since 2003, Reuters and Financial Post report.
PSA- Sustainability innovators can now nominate themselves for the UAE’s Zayed Sustainability Prize, according to a statement. SMEs, nonprofit organizations, and high schools can submit innovative sustainability solutions to compete for a USD 3 mn prize which will be divided among five categories: Health, food, energy, water, and global high schools. Applications are open for entry here until 2 May and award recipients will be announced during COP28 next November.
WATCH THIS SPACE- KSA’s Sumou Holding will produce its first electric car with China’s Enovate within 18 months, Asharq Business reports. The two companies are currently running tests on two EV models to assess their suitability for the Kingdom's climate, and conducting logistical and market studies and securing production components. Sumou and Enovate assigned an MoU last month to set up an EV factory that is expected to produce some 100k cars per year in the kingdom.
WATCH THIS SPACE #2- By 2030, importing green hydrogen into the EU will likely be more cost-effective than domestic production in many EU countries, according to a study from energy research firm Aurora Energy. The cost of producing green hydrogen in Germany — which the research uses as a case study — by 2030 would be some EUR 3.9-5 per kg, Aurora calculated. It estimates that it would cost some EUR 3.6/kg to import it from the UAE, EUR 3.2/kg from Morocco, and EUR 3.1/kg from Australia and Chile.
|
***
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.
Were you forwarded this email? Get your own subscription without charge here or reach out to us on climate@enterprisemea.com with comments, suggestions and story tips.
***
CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-
Qatar is hosting The Indian Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ISHRAE)’s annual energy and environment conference on Saturday, 28 January. The theme of the conference is “Dialogues in Sustainable HVACR and Architecture.”
EBRD + EU + GCF green finance event in Egypt next week: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the EU, and the Green Climate Fund will hold a green finance event on Tuesday, 31 January at the Nile Ritz Carlton Hotel in Cairo, Egypt. Check out the agenda here (pdf).
Egypt will host the CSR Forum from 2 March to 5 March in Somabay, Hurghada. The event aims to further discussions put forth during COP27 and boost private and public sector cooperation on climate action. You can register for the event here.
The Arabia CSR Awards is accepting applications until Friday, 30 June. The awardwinners will be announced during a ceremony on Wednesday, 4 October.
Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.