Good morning, nice people. We’re back from a long weekend and the regional climate sector remains quiet as we start the second week of January. There is one story creating a buzz…

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- Azerbaijan names ex-oil exec Mukhtar Babayev as COP29 president: The government of Azerbaijan has appointed its Ecology and Natural Resources Minister Muktar Babayev as the president of 2024’s COP29 climate summit in Baku, sparking concerns from climate activists over Babayev’s former ties to the state’s oil company Socar. Prior to his appointment as minister in 2018, Babayev served a 26-year stint at Socar, climbing the ranks to become the company’s vice-president for ecology. Azerbaijan also named its Deputy Foreign Minister Yalchin Rafiyev as lead negotiator of this year’s climate summit.

The story made headlines in the international press:Reuters | | AP News | The New York Times | The Washington Post | Bloomberg | BBC | The Guardian

HAPPENING TODAY-

#1-The International Conference on Smart Grid and Renewable Energy kicks off today in Doha,Qatar and runs through to Friday, 12 January. The conference will explore smart grid and renewable energy resources and related technologies. Look for discussion of power electronics, controls, manufacturing, communications, and computational intelligence.

#2- The Sustainability Forum Middle East is opening its doors today in Manama, Bahrain and will conclude tomorrow. The two-day event will focus on accelerating decarbonization in the region and finding financial and technical solutions to speed up the green transition. Speakers at the forum include high-level representatives from companies Lucid Motors, Aluminium Bahrain, Red Sea Global, Acwa Power, and Bahrain steel, amongst others.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1-We have a confirmed period for Egypt’s carbon market launch: The Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX) plans to launch several new financial instruments and indices this year, including a carbon certificates market scheduled for inauguration in 1Q 2024, EGX chairman Ahmed El-Sheikh told Asharq Business last week. The carbon certificates market will allow companies to trade their emissions quotas.

We’ve been waiting for this: In preparation for establishing Africa’s first voluntary carbon market, Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority issued carbon credit verification and certification standards for voluntary carbon certificates in August. Last month, Egypt said it identified 16 sectors — including renewable energy, waste management, and carbon capture — in which it aims to attract investments in carbon trading.

#2- Morocco will use renewable energies in all new desalination plants in a bid to reduce the environmental and financial costs of desalination, Moroccan Equipment and Water Minister Nizar Baraka said (watch, runtime 0:15). Morocco currently has 15 desalination plants and has a target to produce 1.4 billion cbm of water by 2030for drinking and agricultural purposes.

Morocco is boosting water sustainability efforts: Moroccan state-owned fertilizer and phosphate company OCP Group secured a USD 18.3 mn green concessional loan from the Canada-African Development Bank Climate Fund in November to expand its desalination efforts in Africa. Taqa Morocco also secured MAD 6.6 bn from a number of local banks in September, part of which is earmarked to finance planned desalination projects by 4Q 2023.

#3- Alba prepares for hydrogen-powered production: Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) is installing a new 680.9 MW turbine that will be compatible to run on green hydrogen in the company’s fifth power plant, company CEO Ali Al Bakkali told Bahraini news outlet Al Ayam. The turbine — which will be the first of its kind in the world — is manufactured by Mitsubishi Power and will be used in primary aluminum smelters, the report adds. The project is expected to be completed by 4Q of 2024 and will slash 0.5 tons of CO2 emissions per ton of aluminum produced. Alba’s planned 6 MW solar project is also officially under construction, Al Bakkali added.

Not the first Alba-Mitsubishi cooperation: Alba is working with Mitsubishi to capture CO2 from its aluminum smelter and flue gas plants. If the two projects move forward, they could together help capture 500k to 1 mn metric tons per year by 2030.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Saudi Arabia will host the Future Minerals Forum from Tuesday, 9 January through to Thursday, 11 January in Riyadh. The event will focus on resource-rich regions of Africa, Western Asia, and Central Asia and will include a ministerial roundtable with over 60 countries being represented. A parallel exhibition will have some 150 exhibitors and industry sponsors on site.

Libya will host the Libya Energy and Economic Summit on Saturday, 13 January to Sunday, 14 January in Tripoli. The forum will bring together key stakeholders in the energy sector, including government officials, industry leaders, investors, and experts to discuss opportunities in Libya’s energy industry, including in renewables.

The UAE will host the Management and Sustainability of Water Resources Conference from Monday, 26 February to Wednesday 28 February in Dubai. Water availability in arid and semiarid regions, global water issues, and future water and environmental challenges are all on the agenda.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

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