TODAY: One of MENA’s largest CCUS projects has Adnoc’s backing
Good morning, friends. It’s the end of a very busy week for the regional climate industry and the weekend is mere hours away. We have another hefty issue, so let’s jump right in.
THE BIG CLIMATE STORY- The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) said it has reached a final investment decision to set up one of the MENA region’s largest carbon capture projects, which will have the capacity to capture and permanently store 1.5 mn tons per annum of CO2 within geological formations underground.
ALSO- Don’t miss our interview on the future of green methanol as a shipping fuel with CEO of OCI Global and Fertiglobe Ahmed El Hoshy.
^^ We have more on these stories and others in the news well, below.
HAPPENING TODAY- The Annual Regional Sustainability and Development Forum is kicking off today and will conclude tomorrow in Cairo. The two-day forum brings together government officials, policymakers, the business community, NGO representatives, and others to discuss challenges to sustainable development in the region. It will also showcase the latest sustainable development technologies and practices, allowing businesses and organizations to present their related work and products.
THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- Africa calls on the West to upscale climate financing: African leaders have submitted a proposal for new carbon taxes as well as reforms to international finance institutions ahead of COP28 to mobilize more financing for continental climate adaptation efforts. The African countries submitted the Nairobi Declaration, a proposal laying out funding strategies to combat extreme weather, preserve natural resources, and support renewable energy installations in the global south, which will form the basis of the continent’s negotiating position in November. The declaration calls for the formation of a Global Climate Finance Charter by 2025. Over the three-day summit, Kenyan President William Ruto said private financiers committed USD 23 bn to fund green projects.
The details: The Nairobi Declaration emphasizes the need to establish levies on major carbon emitters and calls on global financial institutions and multilateral lenders to expand their climate-geared concessional loan disbursement capacity. The declaration urges world leaders to “rally behind the proposal for a global carbon taxation regime including a carbon tax on fossil fuel trade, maritime transport and aviation, that may also be augmented by a global financial transaction tax.”
The story got some ink in the international press: Reuters | Bloomberg | Deutsche Welle | Sky News
COUNTDOWN- There are just 11 days until the Enterprise Finance Forum, taking place 18-19 September (Monday and Tuesday) at the St. Regis Hotel on the Nile Corniche. This flagship forum is the latest in our must-attend series of invitation-only events, where CEOs, bankers, investors, founders, and corporate leaders will meet to discuss the trends shaping the future of banking, finance, NBFIs, and fintech — and of their clients.
You won’t want to miss this one: Join Karim Awad (CEO, EFG Holding), Hassan Allam (CEO, Hassan Allam Holding), Yasmine El Hini (country officer, IFC), Hazem Moussa (chairman, Contact Financial Holding), Tamer El Emary (group CEO, GB Capital), Hoda Kassem (Cairo global services center director, HSBC Egypt) and many others for talks on everything from investing in uncertain times, to whether NBFIs are a bubble. Stay tuned for the unveiling of our full list of speakers in the coming days.
Tap or click here to REGISTER or view the FULL AGENDA.
We are honored to count some of the region’s most important financial institutions as our partners for this special event. The Enterprise Finance Forum could not take place without the support of our partners including Banque Misr, Al Baraka Bank, FAB Misr, HSBC, Mashreq, CI Capital, Global Corp, Visa, Hassan Allam Utilities, and the IFC.
WATCH THIS SPACE #1- Vale could be launching the Middle East’s iron ore “mega hubs” next year: Brazilian miner Vale said it expects construction of planned low-carbon iron ore “mega hubs” in the Middle East to begin next year, with the first plant set to be operational in 2027, Reuters reports, citing a presentation by the company. The company is set to build and operate iron ore concentration and briquetting facilities at the hubs, with local partners providing necessary logistics infrastructure, it said, without disclosing details on the planned investments or which facility would be built first. Vale signed three agreements last year to examine the feasibility of developing mega hubs in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Oman to supply low carbon products to the steelmaking industry both locally and internationally.
You can thank the Saudis for the push: KSA’s Manara — a recently established JV between Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and state-owned mining company Ma’aden — sealed an agreement in late July with Brazilian miner Vale to grab a 10% slice of its base metals unit as it eyes a pivotal role in the global energy transition supply chains.
WATCH THIS SPACE #2- The UN is considering green sukuk issuances: The UN is looking into issuing green sukuks by next year to help raise funds for refugees and those internally displaced due to the aggravating impact of climate change, a senior official at the UNHCR told Al Monitor in an interview published yesterday. “Islamic bonds offer themselves easily and nicely to their response to climate change. And they might offer sizable resources for climate displacement,” senior adviser and representative to the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries at the UNHCR Khaled Khalifa said. He said he expected the volume of issuance of the green instruments to be at least USD 200 mn, describing the figure as a minimum to achieve a substantial impact.
WATCH THIS SPACE #3- World Bank reform likely on the table in G20: US President Joe Biden will turn his attention to reforming the World Bank while urging other multilateral development banks to shore up lending for climate change and infrastructure projects during the G20 leaders summit in India this month, Reuters reports, citing statement by the White House. The focus on reforms comes after the White House asked Congress in late August for USD 3.3 bn in additional funding under a supplemental budget request to “materially expand development and infrastructure financing” through the World Bank to provide countries with a “credible alternative to the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) coercive and unsustainable lending and infrastructure projects.”
REMEMBER- World Bank reform has been a priority: World Bank President Ajay Banga revealed new plans to expand the bank’s balance sheet and help countries face the impacts of climate change and other challenges last July. “We are making quick progress … we are building a better bank, but eventually we will need a bigger bank,” Banja said, indicating the necessity of a capital increase to help achieve the plans.
DATA POINT- Low-carbon e-fuel use could offset 400 mn tons of emissions by 2050, a report by Aramco and Dutch automaker Stellantis has found. The two companies partnered on a study which revealed low-carbon fuel — derived from a green hydrogen and CO2 mix similar to sustainable aviation fuels — is compatible with 28 mn European-made cars across 24 engine families in circulation since 2014, potentially mitigating some 400 mn tons of greenhouse gas emissions between 2025 and 2050 if motorists make the switch, the report notes.
No modifications needed: Testing undertaken by both companies on e-fuel usage has shown that car models currently on the market can consume the low-carbon source without any modifications to their powertrains. Aramco — which noted that synthetic fuel usage can push down combustion engine cars’ emission output by 70% on a lifecycle basis — has plans to develop low-carbon fuels as a drop-in replacement for conventional fuels. “Drop-in eFuels can have a massive and almost immediate impact on reducing the CO2 emissions of the existing vehicle fleet, offering our customers an easy and economically efficient option to reduce their carbon footprint — one as simple as choosing a different fuel pump at the station, with no additional modification to their vehicles,” Stellantis CEO Ned Curic said.
REMEMBER- The EU commission and Germany have been working on legislation allowing the sale and manufacture of combustion engine vehicles beyond the bloc’s previously agreed termination date of 2035 provided they run on e-fuels. The new law would, if passed, stipulate that cars manufactured beyond mid-2030 be powered by carbon neutral fuels. A sticking point in the draft legislation is the requirement that the new category of vehicles recognize e-fuels from regular CO2-emitting counterparts, forcing manufacturers to develop new engines catering to green fuels. Automakers have already proven that the transition won’t compromise net-zero targets.
THE DANGER ZONE- Sand dredging is decimating the ocean floor: The global marine dredging industry removes an estimated six bn tons of sand from the ocean floor annually with irreversible effects on marine ecosystems, according to a report by the UN. Sand is the second most exploited resource on the planet after water. The South China Sea, the North Sea and the east coast of the United States are among the regions with the highest marine sand loss over the study’s timeframe, and China, the Netherlands, the United States, and Belgium are the most active nations in the dredging sector, sand industry and data analytics officer at the University of Geneva Arnaud Vander Velpen noted.
Efforts to right the ship: The UN passed a resolution last year in a bid to govern the extraction of the resource and reform the dredging industry’s unsustainable mining operations. The release of the UN report coincides with the launch of Marine Sand Watch, an organization funded by the Swiss government that tracks dredging activities using marine tracking and artificial intelligence.
NON-CLIMATE REGIONAL HEADLINES:
- Egypt: Japan and Egypt will strengthen bilateral cooperation in areas of politics, security, economy, and development assistance. (Statement)
- KSA: The IMF expects Saudi Arabia’s GDP growth to slow further than the current forecast of 1.9% amid the latest extension of oil production cuts. (Reuters)
|
***
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.
EXPLORE MORE OF ENTERPRISE ON THE WEB — tap or click here to read EnterpriseAM, EnterprisePM, and The Weekend Edition on our powerful new website packed with reader-friendly features.
Subscribe to Enterprise Climate here or reach out to us on climate@enterprisemea.com with comments, suggestions and story tips.
***
CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-
India will host the G20 Heads of State and Government Summit from Saturday, 9 September to Sunday, 10 September in New Delhi. A G20 Leaders’ Declaration will be adopted at the conclusion of the summit, stating commitment towards priorities discussed and agreed upon during previous ministerial and working group meetings through the year, the organizers note. The last meeting of G20 energy ministers in July failed to reach consensus on a fossil fuel phasedown as several major producing nations, led by Saudi Arabia, blocked the move. Among other expected announcements, the Global Biofuels Alliance is scheduled to be launched at the summit.
Egypt will host the Hydrogen Egypt Summit on Wednesday 13 September and Thursday 14 September in Cairo. The two-day event will bring together members of the local and global hydrogen industry to discuss optimizing hydrogen and green hydrogen development in MENA. The event will serve as a platform for the local industry to discuss potential investments with global investors, operators, and technology providers.
Morocco will host the World Power-to-X Summit from Tuesday 19 September to Thursday 21 September in Marrakech. The event brings together policymakers, industry leaders, and innovators in green hydrogen to showcase success stories in the carbon-free industry. It will also explore scaling-up projects throughout the Power-to-X value chain and hold discussions on harmonizing roadmaps of contiguous countries and adjacent regions.
Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.