TODAY: G20 energy ministers fail to reach consensus on fossil fuels phasedown + Oman, KSA move forward on green hydrogen ambitions
Good morning, nice people. We hope some of you had a restful long weekend, because the climate industry apparently had zero chill while we were on publication holiday, giving us a meaty issue to start off the week.
THE BIG CLIMATE STORIES- Indian renewable energy company Acme Group has secured a c. USD 487.8 mn loan from Indian infrastructure financial institution REC Limited for its the green hydrogen and ammonia project it is building with Norway’s Scatec in Oman. In the KSA, Saudi sovereign wealth fund the Public Investment Fund signed an MoU with Japanese power generation company Jera to explore opportunities in the production of green hydrogen and its derivatives in the kingdom.
^^ We have more details on these stories and more in the news well, below.
THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- There’s no single climate story dominating international headlines this morning, but a failure by G20 nations to reach consensus on a fossil fuels phasedown continued to get coverage by international press over the weekend as they highlighted the shortfall on climate action ahead of COP28. We have all the details on this story in the news well, below.
The G20 meeting got coverage over the weekend from: Reuters | Bloomberg | AFP | The Financial Times | The Guardian
ALSO- Greece’s raging wildfires force mass evacuations: Some 19k people were evacuated from parts of Greek island of Rhodes on Sunday on the back of wildfires caused by soaring record temperatures in southern Europe, Bloomberg reported. Around 16k tourists and locals were evacuated by land while 3k people were evacuated by sea in what is described as the largest evacuation caused by a wildfire in the country’s history.
The evacuation got coverage from Reuters, AFP, The Guardian, and CNN.
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OVER IN COPLAND- Al Jaber wants more countries signing up to Global Cooling Pledge: COP28 President Designate Sultan Al Jaber has called on more nations to join a pledge aimed at delivering more sustainable cooling solutions globally, according to a statement. “We cannot expand cooling on a business-as-usual basis. Without strong policy action, emissions from the sector will rise between 7 to 10 percent from today. To solve this dilemma, we need a rapid transition to energy-efficient and climate-friendly cooling,” Al Jaber said on the sidelines of the 14th Clean Energy Ministerial alongside the G20 Energy Transitions Ministerial Meeting. “In a warming world, sustainable cooling is critical for reducing GHG emissions, protecting against heat stress, enabling productivity, reducing food loss, and enhancing access to healthcare,” he added.
About the pledge: The Global Cooling Pledge is a partnership announced between the COP28 Presidency and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in January. It aims to provide incentives to governments and other stakeholders to focus on sustainable cooling in five areas, including nature-based solutions, super-efficient appliances, and district cooling.
IN OTHER COP NEWS- Stay tuned for close collaboration between COP28, IEA: The COP28 Presidency and the International Energy Agency (IEA) convened the first of high-level dialogues aimed at building consensus over a 1.5°C aligned energy transition, Wam reported on Saturday. The dialogues aimed to achieve agreement on a 1.5°C energy transition course and to create an enabling environment to achieve them. It also aims to build up momentum for the targeted energy outcomes for COP28.
AND- Trade will get special attention at this year’s summit: International trade will be given prominence during COP28 for the first time later this year, according to a statement by the World Trade Organization (WTO) last week. The WTO Secretariat is invited by the UAE Economy Ministry and the UAE Climate Change Special Envoy’s Office to co-lead the COP28 Presidency Committee on trade, bringing together the The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the International Chamber of Commerce, the World Economic Forum, and the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development to help outline discussions on trade during the program. It will be subject to a dedicated day set for 4 December under the COP28 Presidency Thematic Program.
WATCH THIS SPACE #1- Oman’s sovereign wealth fund bets big on an Italian firm’s renewable energy storage: Innovation Development Oman Investments (IDO), the venture capital arm of Oman’s sovereign wealth fund, was named among new investors in Italian battery startup Energy Dome’s technologies, according to a statement released on Thursday. The size of IDO’s investment was not disclosed. The announcement comes as Energy Dome closed the second tranche of its series B funding, bringing the overall round to a total of EUR 55 mn (c. USD 60 mn). Other new investors include Dutch oil and chemicals storage firm Royal Vopak’s corporate capital arm Vopak Ventures and investors representing impact advisory firm Sagana.
About the tech: Energy Dome’s technology includes the trademarked CO2 Battery, a long-duration energy storage system that focuses on turning CO2 gas into a liquid and vice versa, the statement notes. The method does not rely on strategic raw materials, needing no need for minerals, including lithium and copper, that are currently central to much clean technology, Reuters reports.
More to come? The Milan-based firm also signed a MoU with Oman’s sovereign wealth fund to “explore potential areas of collaboration in the Sultanate of Oman,” the statement read, without providing further details on the collaboration.
WATCH THIS SPACE #2- World’s first liquified hydrogen carrier arrives in Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman toured Kawasaki Heavy Industries’ liquified hydrogen carrier at the Jeddah Islamic Port last week, the Saudi Gazette reported on Thursday. The 116 meter, 19 meters wide ship has a 1.25k cubic meters storage capacity storing hydrogen at -253°C.
ALSO- KSA will join Clean Energy Ministerial’s Hydrogen Initiative: Saudi Arabia is reportedly set to join the multi government Hydrogen Initiative spearheaded by India-based clean energy forum Clean Energy Ministerial, Reuters reported on Friday. The initiative aims to connect hydrogen producing and importing countries to discuss international trade of the green fuel.
WATCH THIS SPACE #3- Dutch emissions laws could be putting green investments at Rotterdam at risk: A strict cap on nitrogen emissions in the Netherlands could put c. EUR 10 bn of green tech and renewables investments at Europe’s biggest port Rotterdam “at risk,” outgoing Rotterdam port CEO Allard Castelein told The Financial Times in an interview last week. He revealed that permits for developers to emit nitrogen oxides and nitrates during the construction process have become difficult to obtain after a court ruled that the country has breached sustainable emissions levels. “All these manufacturing sites need to be up and running in the next few years. There is a 2030 climate target. We have no time to lose. We need a long-term solution,” Castelein said.
Why this matters: The issues facing Europe’s biggest port could put a wrench in some regional players’ plans. Those include a planned green hydrogen maritime corridor by Spanish oil company Cepsa — which is majority owned by UAE sovereign fund Mubadala. Saudi oil giant Aramco is also one of several energy firms mulling the establishment of a large-scale ammonia cracking plant at the port.
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The UK will host the London Hydrogen-Africa Green H2 Investment Forum from tomorrow to Wednesday in London. The event will gather green hydrogen developers, investors, and policy makers to discuss challenges, regulatory frameworks, and investments in Africa’s green hydrogen market.
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