TODAY: UAE joins the new Global Biofuels Alliance + UAE’s Offset8 Capital wants to launch a “first-of-its-kind” carbon investment fund
Good morning, ladies and gents. We’re sliding into the weekend with another issue on the lighter side for you to speed through as the temperatures continue to stay swelteringly high.
THE BIG CLIMATE STORY- Abu Dhabi-based asset management firm Offset8 Capital plans to raise at least USD 250 mn for a “first of its kind” carbon investment fund in MENA. It’s aiming to secure the initial capital raise for the close-ended fund in 3Q 2023, subject to regulatory approval.
^^ We have more details on this story and more in the news well, below.
THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- Typhoon madness in the Philippines: At least two people were killed and thousands displaced as Typhoon Doksuri pounded the northern Philippines. The arrival of the super typhoon caused heavy rains, landslides, and power cuts as it intensified in strength. Over 180k people in the country have been impacted by the typhoon, according to the Office of Civil Defense, with dozens of towns facing blackouts. The typhoon, which officials have warned of as the worst storm in a decade, is expected to make its way near Taiwan before making a landfall in China on Friday.
Climate change isn’t helping: The Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, susceptible to a world record of typhoons every year. Climate change is causing typhoons to grow stronger and deadlier due to higher sea surface temperatures and subsurface temperature, which remove the natural barrier on typhoon strength created when cold water up wells from below the ocean’s surface. These stronger typhoons carry more moisture, move faster, and will be aggravated by sea level rise — one of the most certain consequences of climate change.
Doksuri grabbed headlines in the international press: Reuters | Bloomberg | The Associated Press | CNN | The New York Times
WATCH THIS SPACE #1- A new green hydrogen company in Egypt? The board of directors of Egypt’s state-owned Misr Fertilizers Production Company (Mopco) have approved setting up a green hydrogen production company with the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (Echem) and Norway’s Scatec, according to an EGX disclosure (pdf). The hydrogen produced by the company will be used to power green ammonia plants, the statement said. Mopco, Echem, and Scatec’s shares in the newly established firm are yet to be determined.
REMEMBER- In May, Scatec signed a joint development agreement for its USD 5.5 bn green ammonia plant in Ain Sokhna with Echem and Mopco. Scatec began commissioning the first phase of its 100 MW green hydrogen plant in Egypt’s Ain Sokhna with SFE, OCI-Adnoc joint venture Fertiglobe, and Orascom Construction in November.
WATCH THIS SPACE #2- These heatwaves won’t taper off soon: Extreme heat is likely to continue into August in some parts of the Mediterranean, according to a World Meteorological Organization (WMO) statement. The Mediterranean Sea’s surface temperatures will remain exceptionally high in coming weeks — exceeding 30°C in some parts — and stay over 4°C above average in large parts of the western Mediterranean, the statement notes. Tunisia, Algeria, France, Greece, Italy and Spain have reported new maximum daytime and overnight station temperature records. On June 23, Tunisia and Algeria recorded the highest maximum temperatures on record, reaching 49.0°C and 48.7°C, respectively.
CIRCLE 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.
TAP OR CLICK HERE if you want to express interest in attending. We’ll be sending out the first batch of invitations soon.
Do you want to become a commercial partner? Ping a note to Moustafa Taalab, our head of commercial, or fill out this form and we’ll be in touch.
DID YOU MISS THE ENTERPRISE EXPORTS AND FDI FORUM? Tune in to the Enterprise Podcast and listen for yourself: 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 in May.
WANT TO LISTEN? Head to: Apple Podcast | Spotify | Google Podcast | Anghami. We’re releasing a new episode every Sunday morning.
IN THIS WEEK’S EPISODE- We ask some of the biggest multinationals and suppliers operating here — namely, in logistics, e-commerce, and FMCG — what it is they’re looking for in a local partner, product or service and what are some of the pain points they’ve had to cope with. We were joined on that panel by Khaled Morsy, CEO of DB Schenker Egypt, Omar Elsahy, General Manager at Amazon Egypt, Tarek Kamel, Chairman and CEO of Nestlé Egypt and Sudan.
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YOU’RE READING ENTERPRISE CLIMATE, the essential regional publication for senior execs who care about the world’s most important industry. Enterprise Climate covers everything from finance and tech to regulation, products and policy across the Middle East and North Africa. In a nod to the growing geographical ambitions of companies in our corner of the world, we also include an overview of the big trends and data points in nearby countries, including Africa and southern Europe.
Enterprise Climate is published by 5am CLT / 5am Riyadh / 6am UAE Monday through Thursday by Enterprise, the folks who bring you Enterprise Egypt, your essential 6am and 3pm read on business, finance, policy and economy in Egypt and emerging markets.
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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-
Sweden will host World Water Week from Sunday, 20 August to Wednesday, 24 August in Stockholm. Organized by the Stockholm International Water Institute, the event will bring together policy makers, NGOs, and private sector players to discuss innovative solutions to managing water and how to tackle food security, biodiversity, and climate change.
The US will host the International Conference on Recycling and Waste Management and the International Conference on Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change
from Monday, 21 August till Tuesday, 22 August in Philadelphia. The waste management conference will gather environmental engineers, and recycling, wastewater treatment, and climate researchers to discuss trends and innovations in plastics recycling, wastewater treatment, and renewable energy. The sustainability and climate change conference will bring together researchers and industry leaders to spotlight innovations in environmental science, climatology, renewable energy, and pollution control.
The Dominican Republic will host the COP27 Transitional Committee from Tuesday, 29 August to Friday, 1 September. The meeting aims to establish institutional arrangements, modalities, governance structures, and terms of reference for the landmark Loss and Damage Fund. It also wants to expand sources for climate funding under the program.
Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.