TODAY: The UAE greenlights national strategies on renewables, hydrogen and EVs
Good morning, friends. It’s another busy morning in the region with lots of big news emerging from the UAE. Let’s dive right in.
THE BIG CLIMATE STORY- The UAE government has approved its updated National Energy Strategy to increase the country’s 2030 renewable capacity goal to 14 GW from 9.2 GW, tripling the currently installed renewable energy capacity. The Emirates also stamped approvals on the country’s hydrogen and electric vehicles strategies.
^^ We have the details on this story and much more in the news well, below.
THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- Japan’s plan to discharge treated radioactive water from the tsunami-hit Fukushima into the ocean has earned the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) approval despite fierce opposition by neighboring countries like China and the public over the move’s environmental impact. The UN watchdog determined that the plan for “controlled, gradual discharges of the treated water” into the Pacific Ocean “would have a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment.” The approval by the IAEA comes following a two-year review as Japan sought to ensure that the process is safe as it has conducted a treatment of the water, which is enough to fill 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Most radioactive elements in the water have been filtered except for tritium, with Japan stressing that the treated water would be diluted to well below internationally approved levels of the hydrogen isotope before its release into the ocean.
The dump just isn’t sinking in for some: China is one of the main vocal opponents of the plan, arguing that the move would threaten marine environment and public health. Yesterday, China’s Foreign Ministry described the plan as “risky, immoral and illegal.” The proposal is also receiving opposition at home, with Japanese fishing unions saying that it would harm reputations of the country’s fishing industry. Such concerns have led South Koreans to stock up on salt before the release of the treated water with authorities banning seafood from the waters near Fukushima.
The story is grabbing headlines in the international press: Bloomberg | Reuters | BBC | The Guardian | The Financial Times | The Associated Press | The Washington Post | The New York Times | The Wall Street Journal
MARK YOUR CALENDARS- The Enterprise Finance Forum is taking place on 18-19 September at the St. Regis Hotel in Cairo. This flagship forum is the latest in our must-attend series of invitation-only, C-suite-level gatherings that allow senior members of our community to openly and frankly discuss critical issues in key sectors of the economy.
Day one is our Banking Forum, where we’ll dive deep into topics of interest to commercial and investment bankers, from an outlook on the 12 months to come in M&A, IPO, and debt capital markets to the national, regional, and global trends that are (re)shaping our industry.
Day two is all about Fintech and Non-Banking Financial Services. We’ll take a deep dive into everything from the magic of client acquisition to the prospects of consolidation and the coming of challenger banks.
** NEW: MORE NETWORKING TIME- Our agenda includes expanded networking time, including an expanded coffee break and a post-event networking room for you to interact with your peers and speak one-on-one with the team at Enterprise.
TAP OR CLICK HERE if you want to express interest in attending. We’ll be sending out the first batch of invitations just after the 30 June holiday.
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STAY TUNED for more detail about our agenda in the weeks to come.
MISSED THE ENTERPRISE EXPORTS AND FDI FORUM? Tune in to the Enterprise Podcast to hear what went down: The Enterprise Podcast is back with another installment of our forum series, where we bring you audio recordings of what was said on stage at the Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum, which took place last May.
IN THIS WEEK’S EPISODE- We looked at how Egyptian companies can identify and pitch foreign partners and how they can identify them. We asked how do companies figure out what they’re looking for — and whether that dovetails with what they want or need. We were joined on that panel by Hossam Abou Moussa, partner at PE firm Apis, Cheick-Oumar Sylla, director for North Africa and Horn of Africa at the International Finance Corporation, and Hassan Massoud, associate director and head of private equity (Southern Mediterranean) at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Expect us to drop an episode every Sunday morning. You can listen to the Enterprise Podcast where ever you get your podcasts including: Apple Podcast | Spotify | Google Podcast | Anghami.
WATCH THIS SPACE #1- Israel is planning to build an underwater electric cable to line up exports of solar energy to Cyprus and Greece, Reuters reports. An underwater 150 km transmission cable across the Mediterranean will link Europe’s electricity grid with the Negev solar farm. The project is part of a broader plan to link Israel’s electricity grid with Egypt, Jordan, and the Gulf’s, Energy Minister Israel Katz said, according to the newswire.
REMEMBER- Subsea cables, they’re so in right now: The World Bank Group signed off on a USD 268.4 mn loan last month to help Tunisia finance its planned electrical interconnection project with Italy. The EUR 850 mn, 600 MW subsea interconnector project will link Tunisian and EU power grids, enabling the trade in renewable energy between Tunisia and Europe.
WATCH THIS SPACE #2- An exit clause in ESG-linked bonds is ringing alarm bells: Issuers of the USD 6.4 tn ESG debt market are establishing clauses that would allow them to dodge financial penalties, Bloomberg reported earlier this week, citing BloombergNEF analysis. A quarter of sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) can be redeemed before any penalty is imposed, allowing issuers an “exit route if it expects to miss its target.” The study also found other flaws such as clauses that allow companies to adjust their ESG targets after the bond has been issued.
Once bitten, twice shy? The study comes as investors steer away from the SLBs market, with the market seeing a downturn after almost a tenfold increase in sales between 2020 and 2021. Between the start of the year and May, sales of SLB were down by c. 28% y-o-y, according to Bloomberg Intelligence data. SLBs are “riddled with exit clauses, toothless terms and conditions, vague timelines and opaque targets — all designed to protect issuers,” said Maia Godemer, a sustainable finance analyst at BNEF, “but correcting course could unlock tns of USD of investment, shepherding decarbonization in ways no other financial instrument can.”
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THE DANGER ZONE- Ecological collapse is likely to begin sooner than previously expected, the Guardian reported, citing a study published in Nature that models how tipping points can “amplify and accelerate one another.” The researchers warn that “more than a fifth of ecosystems worldwide, including the Amazon rainforest, are at risk of a catastrophic breakdown within a human lifetime,” according to the news outlet. The study concludes that “even if one part of an ecosystem is managed sustainably, new stresses such as global warming and extreme weather events could tip the balance towards a collapse,” the Guardian said.
CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-
Morocco will host the International Conference on Water and Climate tomorrow and Friday in Fez. The conference will bring together state representatives, relevant stakeholders, and UN agencies to discuss water resource management and governance in a five-session programme.
Thailand will host the second workshop on addressing loss and damage from Saturday, 15 July to Sunday, 16 July in Bangkok. The workshop will see discussions on pathways to increasing funding for climate-induced loss and damage. The workshop is being held in preparation for the third meeting of the COP27 Transitional Committee in August. The committee is tasked with operationalizing the Loss and Damage Fund, to be approved during the fourth transitional meeting in October.
Egypt will host the Egypt Mining Forum from Tuesday, 18 July to Wednesday, 19 July in Cairo. The event — organized by the country’s Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ministry — will gather regional players as well as global mining firms in a bid to attract regional and foreign direct investments in the country’s mining industry.
Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events and news triggers.