Good morning, wonderful people. We’re inching closer to the weekend and the green finance news doesn’t seem to be abating on this fine Wednesday morning.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY- UAE’s Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) plans to issue “several USD hundred mn” of green bonds in 2023 for specific projects as part of its growth strategy, and Masdar — in which Taqa holds a controlling stake — will likely spend some USD 50 bn by 2030 to buy solar and wind assets. We have chapter and verse on this story and more in the news well below.

IN OTHER NEWS- Aramco CEO bashes “biased” ESG policies: Saudi Aramco’s CEO Amin Nasser criticized ESG-driven policies, saying they undermine energy security by holding a bias against traditional energy projects, Bloomberg reports. While Nasser did briefly acknowledge the increased integration of ESG policies in capital markets, he mainly targeted the difference between biased and neutral policies, stating that biased policies will lead to a level of underinvestment in oil and gas that can have “serious implications for the global economy.” Nasser made similar statements last September, attributing the energy crisis to underinvestment in traditional energy sources.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION-

New Zealand declared a national state of emergency as a cyclone devastates the country just two weeks after mass flooding, making it just the third time the country has imposed a state of emergency. The climate-induced Cyclone Gabrielle has battered the country’s North Island with wind and rain since Sunday, leaving some 5% of the country’s population without power and destroying infrastructure in several regions. Under the state of emergency, the government will provide additional resources — targeting the most affected areas, in which nearly one-third of New Zealand’s 5.1 mn population live. This follows extensive flooding in Auckland and Northland just two weeks ago. Australia and Britain have both pledged support.

There’s no missing the direct link to climate change: “This is climate change,” said New Zealand’s climate change minister, James Shaw, in a speech to parliament. He urged immediate action, decrying “the lost decades that we spent bickering and arguing about whether climate change was real or not, whether it was caused by humans or not, whether it was bad or not, whether we should do something about it or not.”

The story is getting widespread coverage in the international press: Guardian | Reuters | BBC | Washington Post | AP | BBC | Bloomberg | Guardian | Reuters | CNN | BBC | Wall Street Journal

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WATCH THIS SPACE #1- The world’s current infrastructure cannot support the rapid growth of renewables to keep up with the Paris Agreement requirements, International Renewable Energy Agency Director Francesco La Camera said at Abu Dhabi’s World Government Summit, according to the National. While the Ukraine war created a chance to ramp up the development of renewables, progress isn’t fast enough. The 10% y-o-y increase seen in renewables investment between 2022 and 2023 is “definitely not” sufficient and needs to be multiplied tenfold over the next decade to achieve net zero, Masdar CEO Mohamed Al Ramahi added.

WATCH THIS SPACE #2- IMF chief commends GCC’s diversification efforts: GCC economies are weaning themselves off of oil and leveraging private investments to diversify their economies, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva says, according to Bloomberg. Georgieva told attendees at Dubai’s World Government Summit earlier this week that oil income is not the only reason that the GCC is doing well, pointing to efforts to foster a better environment for private investment by reforming how funds are raised and increasing tax collection. The UAE and Saudi Arabia have been investing oil windfalls into sovereign wealth funds, which are channeling funds into the energy transition — including green hydrogen production — at home and abroad.

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COME TO OUR NEXT ENTERPRISE FORUM-

We’re excited to unveil our next C-level event in Cairo: The Enterprise Exports & FDI Forum, where we will take a deep dive into two of the most critical topics affecting our community.

Interested to learn more about how Egypt is planning on drumming up foreign direct investment (FDI) for all these green hydrogen, solar and wind agreements? Exports and FDI have never been more important to Egypt’s economy — or its businesses — than in the wake of the float of the EGP and the country’s positioning as a regional renewable energy hub. We think there’s a unique chance to build an export-led economy that makes Egypt a magnet for FDI and all the benefits that will come with it.

Want to join the conversation? Drop us a line on events@enterprisemea.com.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The UAE will host the World Environment, Social and Governance Summit from next Tuesday, 21 February to Thursday, 23 February in Dubai. The summit will host discussions on reducing carbon emissions and the urgency to incorporate ESG. Stakeholders from various fields will address the financial and strategic implementation of ESG.

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.

The first MENA Solar Conference is accepting applications from published researchers specialized in PV technology until Sunday, 30 April. The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority will be hosting the conference from 15 to 18 November, in conjunction with the Water, Energy, Technology, and Environment Exhibition and the Dubai Solar Show 2023. Researchers can submit their papers here.

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