TODAY: SIRC acquires 60% of Masab + USAID sets up funding for Lebanese solar power
Good morning, ladies and gents. As we enter the homestretch before Ramadan, the regional updates appear to be slowing down but there are still a few stories making headlines.
THE BIG CLIMATE STORY- The Saudi Investment Recycling Company — a wholly owned subsidiary of KSA’s sovereign wealth fund the Public Investment Fund — acquired a 60% share in Masab Plastic Factory Company, and Lebanese SMEs will get a boost from a new USAID fund aiming to bring solar power to the country. We have all the details on these stories and more in the news well, below.
THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- EU reveals Net Zero Industry and Critical Minerals Acts to rival Chinese dominance: The European Commission is looking to source at least 40% of the bloc’s clean technologies domestically by 2030, as part of its newly proposed Net Zero Industry Act. The commission also proposed a target to shore up at least 10% of its annual rare earths demands domestically as part of its Critical Minerals Act in a bid to wean the bloc off Chinese dependency in the energy transition.
The story has been making the rounds: Bloomberg | Reuters | Financial Times | Washington Post | Wall Street Journal.
HAPPENING TODAY- Denmark is kicking off the Copenhagen Climate Ministerial today and continues tomorrow in Copenhagen marking the first political high-level gathering to follow-up on the COP27 summit’s conclusions and agreements. Denmark and co-hosts Egypt and the UAE will host talks to establish continuity between the last climate summit and November’s COP28, and progress on how targets align with the Paris agreement. Over in Germany, The Infrastructure Investor Global Summit also kicks off today and carries through to Friday in Berlin gathering industry leaders from the global infrastructure sector to map out a course for the industry to upscale its ESG-focused operations and investments.
OVER IN COP LAND- IEA prepping COP28-linked special report: The International Energy Agency (IEA) is in the process of writing a special report to be published ahead of COP28 on the role of oil and gas producers in the transition to net zero emissions, according to a statement released last week. COP28 President-Designate Sultan Al Jaber presented his vision for the UAE’s presidency in a roundtable discussion hosted in Paris with representatives from over 50 countries invited to share thoughts regarding Al Jaber’s vision for COP28. During his visit, Al Jaber met with French President Emmanuel Macron and French Economy and Energy Transition Minister Agnès Panet-Ronache, as well as government and civil representatives working on climate matters, Wam reported.
ALSO- Al Jaber launched the International Youth Climate Delegate Program in partnership with YOUNGO, according to a tweet last week. Al Jaber stressed the importance of young people’s involvement to reach “comprehensive action for the planet.” YOUNGO consists of a large number of youth-led organizations, groups, and individuals working to address climate change.
WATCH THIS SPACE #1- Nuclear energy on the moon? Rolls-Royce secured some USD 3.5 mn in funding from the UK space agency to finance its project to install small modular nuclear reactors on the moon, CNBC reports. The company hopes to get a small nuclear reactor ready by 2029 to provide a continuous source of energy for astronauts on lunar missions. Rolls-Royce is partnering with researchers from the University of Oxford, and the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre and Nuclear AMRC on their Micro-Reactor Program.
WATCH THIS SPACE #2- Nuclear energy is considered “green” as the UK looks to lock in private sector investment: The UK government is set to include nuclear production tech in its green investment rulebook, UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said during a speech last week. The UK is looking to draw private sector investment into the nuclear sector in a bid to build small and large modular reactors, offering incentives similar to those other renewable energy developments, Hunt said. A new nuclear program — Great British Nuclear — will work on bringing down nuclear production costs, facilitate investments into the sector, and address market constraints in line with the country’s target to source 25% of electricity demand from nuclear by 2050. The move follows an EU decision last year to count the energy source toward its renewable energy production targets.
REMEMBER- EU countries remain divided on the role of nuclear energy. Debate over whether nuclear-derived hydrogen should be allowed to count towards the EU’s renewable energy generation targets has delayed the finalizing of a text outlining the EU’s diplomatic priorities ahead of COP28 — which was supposed to be agreed on by member countries in February and has been delayed with no updates. France has been attempting to rally support for the inclusion of nuclear power as a low carbon energy source in EU policies, seeking a nuclear alliance to counter German, Spanish, and other EU opposition to nuclear’s incorporation.
WATCH THIS SPACE #3- Shell excluded end-user emissions from its climate targets, failing to account for 95% of its emissions, Reuters reported last week citing Shell’s 2022 Energy Transition Progress Report. A group of Shell’s shareholders have called on the energy company to set ambitious targets to reduce their Scope 3 emissions — emissions from the end-users of Shell’s energy products. Shell opted to reject the request, citing a possible loss of customers to competition as a reason for their decision. “The Board has considered setting a Scope 3 absolute emissions target, but has found it would be against the financial interests of our shareholders and would not help to mitigate global warming,” company chair Andrew Mackenzie said in the report. The topic of having Scope 3 emission as part of Shell’s emission targets is “the focus of some of the climate litigation against [the company],” the report adds. The rejection of the stricter emission targets comes a couple of weeks after Shell said it was reviewing its plans to slash its oil output and noted that it may backtrack on its oil slashing target depending on “right market guidance.”
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THE DANGER ZONE- “No person, place, economy or ecosystem will be spared”: Fresh water demand is projected to surpass availability by 40% by the end of the decade, experts warn in a new report (pdf) published by the Global Commission on the Economics of Water. The document outlines seven points for collective action in order to achieve water security including an increase of investments in water management through public-private partnerships, pricing water appropriately, and creating equitable partnerships to raise money for water projects in low- and middle-income nations.
CLIMATE DIPLOMACY- UAE + Georgia finalize comprehensive economic partnership agreement: The UAE signed a trade agreement with Georgia on Friday to expand bilateral investments in key sectors including renewable energy, agriculture, and transport, Wam reports.
ALSO- UAE, Korea discuss renewables investments: Emirati Energy Minister Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei met with Korea’s Trade Minister Dukgeun Ahn to discuss potential joint investment in food security, tech, and trade as part of the UAE’s plan to invest some USD 30 bn in the Korean market, according to a statement released on Thursday. The pair also discussed potential projects in the water and energy sectors.
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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-
Italy will host the energy transition expo K.EY from Wednesday, 22 March to Friday, 24 March in Rimini. The event will gather experts in the fields of science, technology, and business to host energy-related discussions on technologies and services that direct a shift towards a carbon-neutral economy.
The US will host the UN Water Conference from Wednesday, 22 March to Friday, 24 March in New York. The conference is a midterm review of the International Decade for Action on Water for Sustainable Development launched in 2018.
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.