Kuwait and China sign agreements to boost collaboration on renewables, smart cities, and low-carbon recycling: Kuwaiti Crown Prince Mishal Al Ahmad Al Sabah signed on Saturday MoUs with the Chinese government in renewable energy, smart city construction, water treatment, and low-carbon recycling, according to the Kuwait News Agency. Kuwait’s Electricity, Water, and Renewable Energy Minister Jassem Al Ostad signed a pact with China’s national energy department to establish power systems and grid infrastructure supporting the Arab country’s transition to renewables. Al Sabah also signed an MoU with China’s state-owned National Development and Reformation Commission to set up a low-carbon green recycling system as well as infrastructure for water treatment solutions in Kuwait. Kuwait announced last November during COP27 that it plans to become carbon-neutral by 2060, and has set out a target to push down by 7.4% its expected business-as-usual (BAU) emissions — 11 mn metric tons of CO2 equivalent — by 2030.

UAE and Indonesia want to team up on smart city development, renewables, and food security: UAE Energy and Infrastructure Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei met with Indonesia's President Joko Widodo on the sidelines of the UAE-Indonesia Business Forum in Jakarta to discuss increasing cooperation in smart and green cities, renewables, and food security, according to Wam. Mazrouei spotlighted potential cooperation in developing Indonesia’s new green capital Nusuantra on Borneo, which is set to become operational by 2045 in line with the country’s efforts to attain carbon neutrality by 2060. Widodo plans to reserve 70% of the new capital’s landmass as green areas in a bid to upscale national reforestation efforts. Mazrouei noted both the state and UAE private developer’s interest in helping establish various port infrastructure in Nusuantra, as well as setting up renewables projects in the country, and helping support Indonesia’s food security efforts. Indonesia has set out a target of sourcing 23% of its energy needs from renewables by 2025.

The UAE has already established a foothold in the country’s clean energy sector: Back in 2020, UAE state-owned renewable energy giant Masdar signed a power purchase agreement with Indonesia’s state-owned electricity company for the 145 MW floating solar power plant the Emirati firm had developed in the South Asian country. Earlier in February, Masdar acquired shares in the geothermal unit of Indonesian government-owned geothermal utility Pertamina, which controls 82% of Indonesia's installed geothermal energy capacity, and manages 13 geothermal energy projects generating 1.87 GW of electricity.

Egypt’s SCZone wants to partner with the Czech Republic on green fuels: The head of Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone Walid Gamal El Din met last week with a delegation of Czech green hydrogen developers to explore increasing Egypt’s green fuel production and export capacities to the EU market, according to a cabinet statement on Wednesday. The SCZone head also met with representatives from the Czech Hydrogen Technology Platform (Hytep) as part of national targets to expand green methanol, ammonia, and hydrogen generation capacities. The Czech Republic unveiled its hydrogen strategy in 2021, setting out a target to produce 990 tonnes of hydrogen per year by 2025 as part of national targets to become carbon neutral by 2040. Earlier last week, SCZone officials similarly met with executives from Shell to discuss potential partnership agreements to accelerate the port’s green fuel storage and production capacity.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

• Tunisia + UK discuss renewables cooperation: Tunisia’s Economy and Planning Minister Samir Said met with UK Trade Commissioner John Humphrey in Tunis on Friday to discuss potential partnerships in the Tunisian and African renewables sector, particularly capitalizing on UK green tech capabilities to support climate-focused SMEs and startups. (TAP)
• UAE + Israel talk cooperation in waste management: The UAE’s Climate Change and Environment Minister Mariam Al Mheiri met with Israeli counterpart Idit Silman to discuss partnership opportunities in waste management as well as climate action collaboration ahead of COP28 in Dubai in December. (Statement)
• Egypt, Jordan, Iraq look at renewables cooperation: The foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq met in New York on Saturday to explore collaboration opportunities in renewable power and trilateral electricity interconnection. (Statement)