TODAY: EBRD + EU extend EUR 71 mn in financing for Jordan wastewater project + UN passes historic resolution on climate change obligations
Good morning, wonderful people. We’re closing out the first week of Ramadan and heading into what we hope will be a restful weekend. That Ramadan news cycle slowdown? Nowhere in sight.
THE BIG CLIMATE STORY- The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) signed an agreement with Jordan’s Planning and International Cooperation Ministry to channel a EUR 30 mn grant provided by the EU — co-financed by a EUR 41.3 mn loan from the EBRD — to go towards the construction of a green wastewater treatment facility in Al Ghabawi.
^^We have all the details on this story and more in the news well, below.
THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- The UN General Assembly passed a historic resolution by consensus yesterday asking the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to weigh in on the obligations of states in combating climate change, pushing countries to take stronger measures. While not binding, the advisory opinion by the ICJ could have a critical role in future climate negotiations and the upwards of 2k climate-driven cases lawsuits around the world by defining the financial obligations states have and ensuring countries stick to their commitments to cut greenhouse gasses.
Hero of the day? The small-island nation of Vanuatu, among the hardest hit by climate change. The resolution landed at the UNGA after a four-year campaign by the little-known republic leading a core group of 18 countries ranging from Costa Rica to Germany. “Together we will send a loud and clear message not only around the world but far into the future that on this very day, the people of the UN acting through their governments decided to leave aside differences and work together to tackle the defining challenge of our time,” Vanuatu Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau said in an address to the General Assembly.
What happens now? Countries will submit input over the next year, and it could take the court around 18 months to issue an advisory opinion to clarify financial obligations countries have on climate change.
The story made headlines in the international press: New York Times | Bloomberg | Washington Post | Reuters | Associated Press | France 24 | Financial Times
OVER IN COP LAND- Al Jaber makes an appearance at BETD: COP28 President-Designate Sultan Al Jaber made an appearance at the 2023 Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue (BETD) where he reiterated calls to the international community for a more reformed financial architecture for renewables and an accelerated pace for renewables deployment and carbon capture expansion, Wam reports. In his keynote speech, Al Jaber praised the bilateral efforts between Germany and the UAE in the field of hydrogen production.
And Egypt follows up on COP27 initiatives: Egypt’s Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad met with Director-General of the UN Office at Vienna Ghada Wali to discuss preparations for COP28 with regards to waste, biodiversity, and deforestation, according to a ministry statement. Fouad presented the Waste 50 initiative launched during COP27 — and funded by the African infrastructure investment bank Africa 50 — highlighting possible areas of cooperation with the UN. Egypt is set to present an action plan for Waste 50 during COP28 and launch the first executive project and a platform for the initiative created in partnership with an international organization, according to the statement.
ALSO- Australia is eyeing a bid for COP31: Despite having one of the highest per capita emissions among G20 countries, Australia is throwing its hat in the ring to host COP31 in 2026 as it attempts to restore its standing as an international climate leader, Bloomberg reports. The oil-rich country will be competing against Turkey in the run up to the selection. Before the country’s Labor government took office last May, Australia had been at the forefront of the move to block international climate progress for much of the past decade with its firm backing of gas projects and coal exports.
WATCH THIS SPACE #1- Loss and damage talks wrap in Luxor: The first meeting of the COP transitional committee concluded yesterday in Luxor with representatives from 33 developing and developed countries hammering out a roadmap ahead for the loss and damage fund, led by Egypt’s lead climate negotiator, Amb. Mohamed Nasr. The committee will meet again on 24-27 May, 29 August-1 September, and 17-20 October, with an additional two workshops planned on 29 and 30 April in Bonn and 22-23 July in Bangkok.
What went down on day 3: As the transitional committee’s work wrapped, the third day centered around planning the work for meetings and workshops ahead, with the committee expressing interest in seeing the legal parameters of different instruments to inform what kind of funds need to be used and the possibilities to alter policy and expand the scope of existing funding options. A request was also made to the World Bank to provide a breakdown of various instruments available for reconstruction and rehabilitation, and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs for more information on the scale of gaps and trends in funding in humanitarian action and collaboration with international finance institutions. Participants also discussed potentially gathering speakers to share case studies from developed countries and countries in different regions globally. You can watch the full day of talks here (watch, runtime: 4:27:53).
WATCH THIS SPACE #2- Greece ❤️ Egypt’s renewables: Greek industrial group Mytilineos is considering pouring investments in various fields in Egypt including renewables, the company’s representatives told the General Authority for Freezones and Investment (GAFI), according to a GAFI statement. Mytilineos is mulling investments in building solar and battery storage plants, the company told GAFI head Hossam Heiba. Other fields of interest include oil and natural gas, infrastructure, and sustainable engineering solutions.
WATCH THIS SPACE #3- UAE’s Metito Holdings is courting unnamed global investors to launch new desalination plants to support Egypt’s green hydrogen projects, Al Mal quotes Metito Africa Managing Director Karim Madwar as saying. Madwar said his company began negotiations in the past week to build the plants in Ain Sokhna, where the country plans to break ground on its green hydrogen ambitions.
What we know: The plants will focus on the production of green hydrogen through splitting water via electrolysis, Madwar said. The plants’ production capacities will handle at least 50k cubic meters per day with a room for further capacity, he added. It’s unclear if the plan includes the USD 1.5 bn water desalination plant that Metito was said to be in talks with authorities along with Scatec Solar, and Orascom Construction last year.
REMEMBER- Egypt already signed a spate of agreements last year, including nine framework agreements and another seven MoUs for green hydrogen plants and ammonia facilities in the SCZone. China Energy said earlier this month that it could begin working on its USD 5.1 bn plant as soon as May.
WATCH THIS SPACE #4- The Middle East and Africa are expected to increase onshore wind energy production by 17 GW between 2023-2027, according to a new report by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). South Africa is forecast to lead the pack, installing onshore wind farms yielding an additional 5.3 GW over the next five years, followed by Egypt at 3.6 GW, Saudi Arabia at 2.4 GW, and Morocco at 2.2, GWEC notes. Although 2022 marked the steepest drop in wind energy installations since 2013 — with no new plants coming online in the key markets of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, and South Africa — GWEC expects annual growth for the region to rebound to 5 GW in 2026-2027.
WATCH THIS SPACE #5- Investor interest in energy security over carbon may see Shell backtrack on oil and gas cuts: Oil and gas giant Shell is likely to position continued oil and gas drilling in the wake of the power crunch triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war as key to shoring up Europe’s energy supplies, according to Bloomberg. Shell — which is expected to lay out its output strategy at a capital markets day event in June — says the majority of its shareholders are prioritizing energy security over carbon generation, the company’s CFO Sinead Gorman told the business information service. Earlier this month, Shell CEO Wael Sawan said paring back oil and gas production would not be “healthy” given the fragility of the global energy system and said the company is reviewing plans to slash its oil output by 1-2% yearly by the end of the decade but may backtrack on its oil slashing target depending on “right market guidance.”
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THE DANGER ZONE- Climate change continues to be mankind’s biggest threat, with global warming overtaking other megatrends, according to a study by Bloomberg Media Megatrends sponsored by Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala Investment. The study — which surveyed 1.8k investors, millennials and Gen Z consumers — showed vulnerability over the risks climate change poses to the world’s well-being.
Respondents have their say: Millennials were the generation most concerned with climate change, with 45% of respondents seeing the issue as high-risk. This is higher than Gen Z respondents (38%) and investors (36%). The study suggests millennials see the greatest risk due to them having “the most at stake,” given that they represent the largest chunk of the US workforce.
With opinion from the region: 41% of respondents from the UAE recognize strongly that global warming is the world’s biggest threat among the megatrends assessed, which include digital technologies, inequalities, demographic shifts, and urbanization, according to a press release on the study. Most respondents from the UAE (93%) agreed on the necessity of a transition to a low carbon economy to help combat climate change.
CLIMATE DIPLOMACY- UAE + Costa Rica talk economic partnership: The UAE and Costa Rica signed a joint statement to launch preliminary talks to establish an economic partnership agreement covering key sectors including renewable energy, Wam reports. This marks Costa Rica’s first freetrade agreement with a MENA country, Costa Rican Foreign Trade Minister Manuel Rivera said at the signing ceremony.
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