Good morning, friends. We have a packed issue this morning with updates from around the region cutting across all sectors of the climate industry. Let’s dive right in.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORIES- Jordan’s Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has signed an MoU with Jordan Green Ammonia to conduct feasibility studies on developing green hydrogen projects in the country and US electric aircraft maker Joby Aviation plans to participate in Abu Dhabi’s newly formed Smart and Autonomous Vehicles Industry cluster.

^^ We have the details on these stories and more in the news well, below.

HAPPENING TODAY- The UNCTAD World Investment Forum is kicking off today in Abu Dhabi and running through to Friday. This year’s theme focuses on sustainable investments, with a diverse range of climate financing sessions on promoting investments in the blue economy, agrifood systems, sustainable infrastructure, carbon markets, the circular economy, strategic minerals for decarbonization, and sustainable tourism. Some sessions will tackle reform of financial institutions needed to reach net zero, such as a session on integrating nature-related risk into capital markets and financing an equitable nature economy. Public sector investments and stock exchange action on climate disclosures will also be discussed.

ALSO- The IAEA Fusion Energy Conference will kick off today and run until Saturday in London. The focus of this year’s conference reflects the priorities of the new nuclear fusion era in energy research, technology deployment, and preparation for industrial deployment. It aims to serve as a platform for exchanging the outcomes of research and development efforts in both national and global fusion programmes.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- Seven green hydrogen hubs across the US selected for USD 7 bn grants: US President Joe Biden mobilized USD 7 bn in federal grants to support development of seven green hydrogen production hubs across 16 states on Friday. The projects — established by companies including Exxon and Amazon — are expected to rake in investments totalling nearly USD 50 bn when accounting for additional private financing from the developing firms, Biden said. The government funding under the US’ landmark USD 369 bn Inflation Reduction Act aims to set up the necessary clean hydrogen infrastructure to help hard-to-abate sectors — including the cement and steelmaking industries —decarbonize their operations through low-carbon fuel usage. The US has set a target to up its clean hydrogen production capacity to 10 mn tons by 2030, before reaching 50 mn tons by 2050.

The federal grants dominated coverage over the weekend: Reuters | Bloomberg | The Associated Press | The Washington Post | The New York Times | CNN | BBC

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WATCH THIS SPACE #1- Egypt is studying two offers to finalize separate agreements with Orascom Construction (OC) and Scatec to build wind projects in the country, a senior Electricity Ministry official confirmed to Enterprise. The New Renewable Energy Authority and the energy companies are expected to sign joint development agreements within the next two months, our source said.

REMEMBER- An OC-led consortium with Engie and Toyota Tsusho signed up to build a 3 GW wind farm and Scatec agreed to develop a portfolio of up to 5 GW of wind projects with USD 5 bn on the sidelines of COP27 in Egypt last year.

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WATCH THIS SPACE #2- Germany will reportedly pour in investments for Morocco’s green hydrogen sector in the next two years, a Moroccan news outlet reported on Saturday, referencing a cabinet Tweet. Germany’s Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Svenja Schulze headed a delegation on a visit with the Green Energy Park authority of Central Morocco’s town of Ben Guerir, and said her country will be collaborating with the kingdom on renewables projects under plans to bring online a green hydrogen production plant in Morocco by 2025. Germany signed an agreement with the Moroccan government to build a 100 MW hydrogen plant in the kingdom back in 2020 and has a target of producing 95-130 TWh of hydrogen by 2030, with 50-70% of the green fuels mix being sourced from international markets, according to Reuters.

WATCH THIS SPACE #3- Oman will auction “vast” tracts of land for renewables projects: The Omani government is allocating over 7.8k km2 of land in the Northern governorates of Al Dhahirah, Al Dakhiliyah, and South Al Sharqiyah for renewables and green fuel projects as part of plans to have clean energy comprise a third of its power mix by 2030, Oman Daily Observer reported on Friday. Solar radiation averages 2-2.5k KWh (2.5 MWh) per square meter in different parts of the country, while wind speeds average 8-10 meters/second, which is suitable for large-scale renewables development, the country’s Energy and Minerals Ministry said. The newly announced land allocations add to the country’s already identified 50k km2 of land blocks for planned green hydrogen generation projects: 25.7k km2 in Al Jazer, 7.9k km2 in Salalah, and 15.9k km2 in Duqm, the ministry said. The sultanate's strategy for the energy source includes an increase in investment in green hydrogen to USD 140 bn by 2050.

ALSO FROM OMAN- The sultanate’s first wave energy pilot projects are expected to be launched within the next two years, Norwegian wave power firm Havkraft MENA Advisor and UK-based consultancy Translucidus Managing Director Matt Minshall told Zawya Projects in an interview. His statements come months after Translucidus joined forces with Havkraft to establish Oman’s first wave energy power generation facilities.

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WATCH THIS SPACE #4- KSA plans to use carbon capture tech and green hydrogen to produce SAFs, the Managing Director of the National Hydrogen and Circular Economy Office at Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry Zaid Al Gharib told Asharq Al Awsat last week. Sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) are produced from a mix of renewables-powered hydrogen and carbon dioxide captured from the atmosphere. KSA’s government is currently undertaking studies on how to capitalize on the green hydrogen it will produce from its USD 8.4 bn utility-scale project in Neom as well as other planned green fuel projects, as well as its carbon capture capacity at underground wells to generate a mix of low-carbon fuels to meet its 2060 carbon neutrality target, Gharib said.

Lots of carbon to use: One of KSA’s largest potential underground CO2 storage reservoirs — announced under the Saudi Green Initiative — will have a 44 mn ton carbon capture capacity by 2035, he noted. The Neom mega green hydrogen plant — the first of its kind to achieve financial close in the region — is set to produce 250k tons by 2026, he added. The kingdom also plans to leverage its geographical position to establish a green fuels corridor connecting Asia with central Europe through India to boost its export capacity of low-carbon energy sources, Gharib told the news outlet.

SPEAKING OF CARBON- MENA’s voluntary carbon credit market could see trading of up to 150 mn CO2 tons by 2030: The regional voluntary carbon credits market (VCM) could see CO2 trading of 100-150 mn tons by the end of the decade, Regional Voluntary Carbon Market Company (RVCMC) CEO Riham ElGizy told Arab News in an interview on Wednesday. RCVMC — established by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund and the Saudi Tadawul Group with SAR 500 mn of capital — plans to launch its carbon trading exchange in the second half of next year, Ghizy said. “Before the establishment of the platform, RVCMC will make available exchange and advisory services to buyers and suppliers,” she said. “We’re not waiting till the exchange comes online by 2024.”

RVCMC also announced its planned VCM structure: RVCMC’s carbon platform is “going to be a spot market to help price discovery by 2024,” ElGizy noted. “We will have as well in that exchange over-the-counter trading, we will have a marketplace for suppliers to sell their own products,” she added. Earlier in June, RVCMC sold 2 mn tons of carbon credits in what the company described as the largest-ever voluntary carbon credit auction.

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WATCH THIS SPACE #5- The Neom Green Hydrogen Company is exploring potential expansions in Saudi Arabia and the wider region, CEO David Edmondson told Arab News in an interview last week. This comes in parallel to preparations to launch the company’s green ammonia facility in Neon, which is slated to begin full-scale production by the end of 2026, months after its first operations commences, Edmondson added. The facility will be powered by USD 8.5 bn utility-scale green hydrogen facility and produce 1.2 mn tons of green ammonia annually, making it the largest of its kind in the world. The first phase will be launched in summer of 2026. The interview came on the sidelines of the MENA Climate Week in Riyadh.

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THE DANGER ZONE- Climate-induced food and water shocks could cause USD 5 tn in global losses in five years under extreme scenarios, according to new data by ins. company Lloyd’s of London. Lloyd's, in partnership with the Cambridge Centre for Risk Studies, carried out a “system risk scenario” simulation to estimate the impact food and water shortages on the back of climate-driven extreme weather would have in a five-year period under major, severe, and extreme scenarios. They found that nutritional insecurity could have an economic toll of up to USD 5 tn under a “plausible increase” scenario, and could reach USD 17.6 tn under the most extreme forecast. The lowest severity scenario would see an economic toll of USD 3 tn, the firm said.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Saudi Arabia will host the Environment Ministers in the Islamic World on Wednesday, 18 October and Thursday, 19 October in Jeddah. The two-day event will bring together ministers from 52 countries, as well as delegates from 30 regional and international environmental organizations, to discuss the green transition and developments in clean technologies within the Islamic world.

Oman will host the Duqm Economic Forum from Monday, 16 October to Tuesday, 17 October in Duqm. The two-day event — organized by the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and FreeZones — will showcase green investment windows and possible partnerships at the Special Economic Zone at Duqm.

Egypt will host the fourth meeting of the COP27 Transitional Committee from Tuesday, 17 October to Friday, 20 October in Aswan. The meeting aims to establish institutional arrangements, modalities, governance structures, and terms of reference for the landmark Loss and Damage Fund while expanding 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.