TODAY: TotalEnergies and friends are building a 119 MW solar farm in KSA
Good morning, ladies and gents. We hope you’re well-rested after a very appreciated Eid Al Adha break. The region got busy while we were off, and there’s quite a few climate updates to dive into this morning. But first…
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.
Do you want to become a commercial partner? Please click here.
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.
OUR TOP CLIMATE STORIES- Noor Alwadi Renewable Energy Company — a JV between French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies, Japan’s Toyota Tsusho Corporation, and Saudi Arabia’s Altaaqa Renewable Energy — is set to build a c. USD 100 mn 119 MW solar plant in Saudi Arabia and China’s Guangzhou Tinci Materials Technology is planning to establish a lithium electrolyte factory in Morocco.
^^ We have the details on these stories and much more in the news well, below.
THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION– A debate is rising over a proposed global levy on shipping emissions as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) summit in London kicked off yesterday. A draft document seen by Bloomberg on Friday saw the shipping industry agreeing to attempt to hit net zero “around” 2050 with a contentious proposal to levy a tax on shipping emissions, and other proposals including introducing limits to the amount of greenhouse gas emissions relative to energy used on ships.
The proposed taxation has triggered a response from China, which has urged developing nations to oppose what it described as an “unrealistic” global levy on shipping emissions. China warned that “an overly ambitious emission reduction target will seriously impede the sustainable development of international shipping, significantly increase the cost of the supply chain and will adversely impede the recovery of the global economy.” Beijing also said that rich countries were pushing the IMO to “reach unrealistic visions and levels of ambition” through a levy that would lead to a significant spike in maritime transport costs.
REMEMBER- The proposed tax was discussed during the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in Paris in June, where French President Emmanuel Macron stressed the necessity for a global levy on shipping and aviation to help fund climate action. If applied by the IMO, the levy would help raise an annual USD 100 bn to go towards developing nations hard hit by climate change.
The story is grabbing headlines in the international press: Bloomberg | The Financial Times | Reuters | BBC | The Washington Post
HAPPENING TODAY- The International Energy Agency will host an online event titled Climate Resilience for Energy Transitions in the Middle East and North Africa at 15:30 CLT out of Rabat, Morocco where it will release reports on Egypt, Morocco, and Oman’s climate resilience amid the clean energy transition. The event will focus on spotlighting pathways to improving energy resilience and climate risks to energy systems in the region. Register for online attendance here.
SOUNDBITE OF THE WEEK- “We know that our environment is burning. It's melting. It's flooding. It's depleting. It's drying. It's dying,” the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said during the Human Rights Council’s 53rd session yesterday. Turk warned of a “truly terrifying scale of desperation and need” on the back of increased hunger due to climate change and that “no country will be spared” from growing risks of climate change, with countries most impacted set to be those with existing food insecurity crises. He urged the end to “senseless subsidies to the fossil fuel industry” and said COP28 needs to be the “decisive game-changer that we so badly need”.
OVER IN COPLAND- A holistic ecosystem for climate action? COP28 President-Designate Sultan Al Jaber has stressed the necessity for a “holistic ecosystem” to help push climate action during London Climate Action Week 2023, according to a statement released on Thursday. "If we are going to cut emissions by 43% in the next 7 years, we need a holistic ecosystem that connects policy, technology, finance and people. We need supportive policies to stimulate adoption of clean energies and incentivize decarbonization,” he said. Al Jaber also attended a roundtable focused on climate solutions with King Charles III and several British officials and stakeholders, holding talks with UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Grant Shapps to discuss “bolstering cooperation between the UAE and UK to support the Breakthrough Agenda agreed in Glasgow’s COP26 and shape a bold response to the Global Stocktake ahead of COP28,” according to a separate tweet.
WATCH THIS SPACE #1- All eyes on UAE’s renewables spending spree: The UAE plans to invest between AED 150 bn to AED 200 bn in its renewable energy sector over the next seven years, UAE Prime Minister and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid said yesterday. The Gulf country is targeting a threefold increase in the share of energy produced from renewable sources over the same period, he said. The UAE has also adopted its national strategy for hydrogen, which aims to consolidate the country’s position as a producer and exporter of low-emission hydrogen in the next eight years, he added.
ALSO- The UAE is a frontrunner in the WtE push: The UAE is set to contribute a majority of the region’s total biomass production capacity with a 571 MW share of the total 659 MW expected generational capacity pegged for 2031, Zawya reports, citing data by research firm BMI. The research firm upgraded its biomass production forecast for the region from 231 MW last year to 659 MW, with the hike attributable to the UAE’s deployment of projects with a 400 MW energy capacity, as well as a USD 120 mn 30 MW waste-to-energy plant that came online in Egypt over the past year, the news outlet notes. The global biomass energy sector is expected to generate some 31.4 GW of clean energy by 2032.
More in the pipeline for the UAE: Back in May, two international consortiums — one led by Japan’s Marubeni and the other by France’s water utility and waste recycling company Suez — submitted proposals to the Emirates Water and Electricity Company (Ewec) and the Abu Dhabi Waste Management Company (Tadweer) for the development of a 900k ton capacity greenfield Waste-to-Energy (WtE) IPP facility in Abu Dhabi.
WATCH THIS SPACE #2- A proposed GCC-Europe hydrogen pipeline “appears challenging but feasible,” an initial joint study (pdf) published last week by engineering consulting firms RINA and AFRY concluded. The Italian and Swedish consulting firms assessed a potential hydrogen pipeline with the ability to transport 100 TWh or 2.5 mn tons of hydrogen per year, running from Qatar to Europe via Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea. Based on RINA and AFRY’s calculations, the pipeline could deliver green and blue hydrogen to Europe at a levelized cost of around EUR 2.7 per kg by 2030, later decreasing to EUR 2.3 per kg.
Where do we go from here? The RINA and AFRY study signals a giant potential for the region to become a global hydrogen hub, unlocking billions in foreign investments. To move forward, a Red Flag exercise is proposed — meaning an evaluation on physical limitations, asset availability, strategic hazards, and competitive advantage. The study also recommends a pre-feasibility study be initiated subsequently.
WATCH THIS SPACE #3- Bahrain wants a renewable energy boost: Bahrain plans to boost its renewable energy share to 5% of its total electricity generation by 2025, Bahrain News Agency reported last week, citing statements by President of the Electricity and Water Authority Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed. He said that Bahrain plans to raise the target to 20% by 2035 as part of the kingdom’s National Energy Transition Plan.
Part of a larger decarbonization drive: The kingdom has pledged to reduce emissions by 30% by 2035 through decarbonization and doubling renewables targets. It is also committed to reaching net zero by 2060.
WATCH THIS SPACE #4- The world’s first ammonia-powered car engine is here: State-owned China’s Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) have developed the world’s first ammonia-powered car engine, Bloomberg reported last week. Given ammonia’s low flammability and high nitrogen oxide emissions, it is considered an alternative fuel in industries better positioned to handle toxic substances such as trucking and shipping, Bloomberg explains. While some automakers are willing to allocate resources to overcome the difficulty in handling the fuel and building refueling infrastructure, others see it as a “hellish” task, with head of transport and automotive analysis at BloombergNEF Colin McKerracher claiming he “can’t see it taking off in passenger cars.”
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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-
Morocco will host the International Conference on Water and Climate on Thursday, 6 July and Friday, 7 July 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.
Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events and news triggers.