Good morning, ladies and gents. For our Egypt-based readers, we hope the long weekend treated you well, and for those elsewhere in the region, we hope you had a restful couple of days to gear up for the week. We have a lot of news to cover this morning, so let’s jump right in.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- Climate change-induced inclement weather hits New Zealand mid-summer: Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city and business hub, remained under a state of emergency yesterday after three days of severe rainfall, flash floods, and landslides battered “large swathes” of the country’s North Island. Rainfall reached record levels, with four people reported dead, thousands of properties left without power, and hundreds without water, according to authorities. Auckland Airport closed its international and domestic terminals from Friday evening to midday Saturday, forcing one Emirates flight from the UAE to turn around 13 hours into the trip. Climate change is causing more frequent and intense periods of rainfall in the antipodean nation, New Zealand’s Climate Change Minister James Shaw noted in a tweet on Saturday.

The story is seeing widespread coverage in the international press: Reuters | Guardian | BBC | CNN | ABC | New York Times | Voice of America | Euronews |

ALSO BIG OUTSIDE THE REGION, BUT WITH REGIONAL IMPLICATIONS- India’s Gautam Adani has clapped back at a report poised to derail his firm’s USD 2.5 bn secondary offering, intended to boost green financing. Adani published a 413-page document (pdf) yesterday, refuting allegations leveled at Adani Group of fraud and unsustainable debt — all of which were published on Tuesday in a report by investment research firm and short seller Hindenburg Research.

Investor interest in a planned secondary offering of shares in Adani Enterprises — a key Adani Group subsidiary — was notably muted when it kicked off last week, following the Hindenburg report’s disclosures. Adani had intended to use some USD 1.33 bn raised in the secondary offering to fund green hydrogen and other infrastructure projects, Bloomberg reported before the furore. We have more on the story in the news well, below.

Adani terms the publication of the Hindenburg report “nothing short of a calculated securities fraud under applicable law” in his rebuttal. The company has intimated it might take legal action against the research firm.

The story is seeing coverage in the international press: Reuters | Bloomberg | Reuters | Bloomberg | Financial Times | BBC

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PSA- The French Development Agency (AFD) has opened applications for funding sustainable cities projects through its Samim project, according to a statement. AFD will provide financing ranging from EUR 30-40k for projects focusing on waste management, energy efficiency, sustainable mobility, ecotourism, ecourbanism, and ones bolstering the transition to clean energy across Morocco, Tunisia, and Jordan. Interested SMEs, startups, and young entrepreneurs from the three countries with projects that can be completed within 12 months can submit applications here until 20 February.

WATCH THIS SPACE- Oman has allocated land for renewables projects that will be used for green hydrogen and ammonia production within its special economic zones, Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and FreeZones (OPAZ) Chairman Ali Al Sunaidy said in an interview last week. OPAZ has allocated 250 sqkm within the Duqm economic zone for solar and wind farms to power green hydrogen and ammonia production, with one “initial 300 MW plant” already under construction and detailed studies underway for another of “much larger capacity,” Al Sunaidy said. OPAZ is also allocating land within the Sohar economic zone to boost solar energy production, he added. Plans to allocate the land were announced back in October.

Blue hydrogen could also be produced in Duqm: OPAZ is eyeing the possibility of producing blue hydrogen for export in Duqm, taking the captured CO2 and “re-injecting” it into decommissioned oil and gas fields nearby, Al Sunaidy said.

SIGN OF THE TIMES- Is the tide turning on fossil fuel investments? Global green investments were on par with fossil fuel investments for the first time in 2022, with USD 1 tn channeled into the clean energy transition last year, according to analysis from BloombergNEF. This is the first time investments in renewables, electric vehicles and new energy sources have exceeded USD 1 tn, increasing 31% y-o-y from 2021. Almost half of energy transition investments — USD 546 bn — were made in China, with the US taking second place with investments totaling USD 141 bn. The biggest share of investments by project type went toward wind and solar, with EVs coming in close behind.

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CLIMATE DIPLOMACY-

Egypt’s El Sisi puts green energy in the spotlight on state visit to India: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi discussed stronger renewables collaboration during talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and held green energy-focused discussions with the leaders of India’s ReNew Power and Adani Group during his visit to India last week, according to multiple statements (here, here and here). No new investment or economic agreements have been announced following El Sisi’s three-day visit.

El Sisi also discussed renewables with Azerbaijan: El Sisi met with Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev to discuss cooperation on renewable energy and Egypt’s renewables and hydrogen generation capacity on his first state visit to the country, according to a cabinet statement on Friday. The president also discussed private sector cooperation and investments with the country’s industry leaders, another statement notes, without disclosing any specific projects.

Egypt’s Electricity Ministry signed an MoU with Nigeria’s Energy Ministry to boost renewable energy cooperation, according to a cabinet statement released last week. The agreement will target cooperation on planning, design, and implementation of renewable energy projects and expand on training and capacity building activities for energy production in both countries.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

EBRD + EU + GCF green finance event in Egypt: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the EU, and the Green Climate Fund will hold a green finance event tomorrow at the Nile Ritz Carlton Hotel in Cairo, Egypt.

Egypt will host the CSR Forum from 2-5 March at 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.