TODAY: Ma’aden moves forward with buying stakes in US minerals firm Ivanhoe Electric
Good morning, wonderful people. It’s a quiet morning on the regional climate news front, with a couple of stories to dig into.
THE BIG CLIMATE STORY- Saudi Arabia’s state-owned mining company Ma’aden has moved forward with its 9.9% acquisition of US mineral development company Ivanhoe Electric Inc. by signing a conditional common shares subscription agreement and Egypt’s Al Baraka Bank will receive a USD 30 mn loan from the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector to finance green projects.
^^ We have the details on these stories and more in the news well, below.
THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- There is not a single story dominating the international headlines this morning, but France is set to host a meeting today aimed at rallying support for nuclear energy. The EU country will gather 14 other EU state representatives in Paris today as it looks to count nuclear energy toward the EU’s clean energy sources. A document prepared by the French government seen by Reuters — which may yet undergo changes after today’s meeting — aims to hike the bloc’s nuclear energy generation capacity from 100 GW to 150 GW by 2050 via the installation of 30-45 micro and large nuclear reactors. The story was also picked up in Bloomberg.
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 set finalization date. France has been for months 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 inclusion.
WATCH THIS SPACE- Europe’s renewable energy expansion could make newly planned LNG infrastructure obsolete past 2030, Bloomberg reports. Europe is ramping up plans to build import terminals for LNG after Russia cut down its pipeline supplies, and some experts suggest bns of EUR in infrastructure could become “stranded assets” as the continent meets its energy transition targets. “Some of the investments in LNG import infrastructure were made by markets based on the assumption that there’s always going to be demand somewhere in Europe,” an industry expert specializing in natgas tells Bloomberg.
The numbers: Europe’s LNG import capacity is expected to rise about 50% over this decade, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) said in a report published in March and cited by Bloomberg. However, some forecasts reveal that LNG demand is unlikely to increase, and could even fall, therefore leaving the EU with as much as 250 bn cubic meters of unused capacity by 2030, IEEFA concludes.
WATCH THIS SPACE- The EU will source 42.5% of its energy from renewables by 2030, Reuters reports, referencing a finalized version of the new law it has seen. The European Union’s legislation — set to be reviewed by EU diplomats tomorrow — confirms a political agreement agreed upon in March laying out targets to increase the bloc’s climate action targets from a 32% of renewables capacity by the end of the decade to a new binding commitment of a 42.5% share, and aims to have EU member states expand their individual renewables capacity to 45% of their total energy mix by 2030.
DATA POINT- Dewa is at the top of its carbons emissions slashing game: State-owned Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has slashed carbon dioxide emissions by 218.3k tons since the launch of its High-Water Usage Alert service in 2019, Wam reports. The service sends instant notifications to users if its smart meter system detects unusual consumption rates. The service helped Dewa detect 1.3 mn leaks in water connections, 26k defects, and 13k cases of increased load.
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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-
Japan will host the G7 Hiroshima Summit from 19 May to 21 May in Hiroshima. One of the key topics addressed at the summit will be ensuring energy security with the goal of achieving net zero by 2050 based on the Paris Agreement.
Oman will host the Power and Energy Conference from 22 May to 25 May in Muscat. The event will bring together local and global industry leaders to discuss global energy market policy updates, future demand and growth projections in the sector, integration and power grid obstacles, and growth potential associated with renewables and EV deployments.
Germany will host the second meeting of the COP27 Transitional Committee from 25 May to 27 of May in Bonn. The meeting will build on the loss and damage fund established during COP27 with the aim of establishing institutional mechanisms and governance structures for financing, and will bring together a host of international financial institutions to discuss pathways to increasing funding capacity for climate vulnerable countries.
The UAE will host the Electric Vehicle Innovation Summit from 29 May to 31 May in Abu Dhabi. The conference will bring together state representatives, industry players from the EV sector, as well as engineers and researchers to discuss policy trends and tech innovations in the industry and provide attendees with networking opportunities across value chains.
Qatar will host the Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) Forum from 29 May to 31 May in Lusail City. The event aims to spotlight MENA’s CCUS regulations and policies, map out paths and business models that would bring down CCUS project costs, promote regional and international cooperation to advance the international carbon capture sector, and discuss the role CCUS will play in helping Gulf countries meet their net zero targets.
Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events and news triggers.