Good morning, ladies and gents. We have a compact issue this morning with a few financing updates from Acwa Power and Egypt, along with a crash course in what to expect from next month’s COP29 summit in Baku. First, some green news from the ride-hailing giant Uber…

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- Uber Green goes even greener: Uber’s Uber Green service — previously a hybrid and EV ridesharing product at an extra fee — is going fully electric in 40 cities, including some in the US, Australia, and New Zealand, and all French cities. The company also pledged USD 800 mn to support its EV transition by 2040, encouraging governments to do more to incentivize EV supply as well as demand, Uber said. Around 180k Uber drivers are currently using EVs in the US, Canada, and Europe. Customers next year will have the EV-first preference, which ‘automatically matches’ users with an EV if one is around.

Uber has big green goals: Uber has pledged to go carbon neutral in North America and Europe by 2030, and in all global markets by 2040. Uber partnered with China’s BYD last July to add 100k EVs to its fleet to help meet that goal.

ALSO- Uber’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi criticized the tariff campaign against Chinese EVs by several countries saying it’s “bad for the planet” and increases transition costs for drivers.

The story made headlines in the international press: Reuters | CNBC | The Verge | BBC | Forbes

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Emirati renewables company Amea Power will reportedly kick off operations for the first phase of its Ras Ghareb wind farm in March 2025, Al Mal reports, citing a government source it says has knowledge of the matter. The first phase of the USD 800 mn, 500 MW project will have a 250 MW capacity, and the second phase will be operational by July 2025.

REMEMBER – The company is expanding in Egypt: Adding to its portfolio of 1 GW worth of renewable energy projects, including the 500 MW solar plant in Abydos, alongside the Ras Ghareb farm, the company received approval from the Egyptian cabinet in July to expand its renewable energy projects in the country by the summer of 2025. Last September, the company secured two landmark projects in Egypt, inking power purchase agreements to develop and expand solar and battery energy storage system projects in Egypt. The company said it would pour USD 800 mn in investments into the two projects, which together can power some 769k homes in Egypt, cutting carbon emissions by 2.3 mn tons per year.

#2- China is oversupplying lithium to the global market to cause a “predatory” price drop and eliminate competitors, Reuters reports, citing comments made by US under secretary of economic growth Jose Fernandez. China’s lithium practices caused an 80% price drop in prices last year. Chinese producers of the metal have also felt the impacts of the plummeting prices, forcing some to temporarily halt production at certain mines, the newswire writes.

Portugal is also taking a hit: Lithium producers across the globe have had to scale back production and initiate layoffs, including in Portugal, which holds around 60k tons of reserves and is Europe’s biggest source of the metal.

#3- Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) prices could fall by as much as 76% –– from USD 46 per MWh to USD 11 per MWh –– between 2023 and 2050, according to a new report by Wood Mackenzie. The projections are based on a predicted surplus in the REC market due to a fourfold increase in renewable power generation across six Asia Pacific markets: Taiwan Region, South Korea, Australia, India, China, and Japan. Taiwan and South Korea have the highest REC prices, but they are forecasted to decline by over 70% by 2050. In contrast, China’s REC prices may rise due to state-mandated policies increasing REC purchase requirements from both power and non-power industries starting in the late 2020s, the report says.

The share of renewable energy in these markets is expected to rise from 14% to 55% by 2050, while solar and wind costs are also projected to fall by at least 40% on average during the same period.

RECs are being used in the region: The Emirates Water and Electricity Company (Ewec) launched its first clean energy certificates in 2021 and has since embraced the instrument for its decarbonization strategy. It concluded its most recent auction last month for 3Q 2024. The UAE’s Adnoc also inaugurated last year the region’s first high-speed green hydrogen pilot refueling station last year, which would provide green hydrogen certificates from solar sources that are cleared by the International REC Standard.

FROM THE DEPT. OF GOOD NEWS-

Tanzania leads the way in climate-smart agriculture: Agriculture-dependent Tanzania is transforming its agricultural sector to tackle the growing challenges of climate change by using science-based approaches to build climate resilience and ensure food security, The East African reports. With agriculture being vital to the country’s economy, farmers – especially small-scale ones – face severe threats from unpredictable weather patterns, such as droughts, floods and excessive rainfall, and new pests.

Climate-smart crops show big promise: Cassava – a staple drought-resilient tropical root – has become central to Tanzania’s adaptation efforts. Through a comprehensive seed system developed by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and local authorities, the country produces over 83 mn disease-free cassava cuttings annually, generating TZS 3.5 bn (c. USD 1.3 mn). Meanwhile, the government is also promoting the nutritious, climate-resilient Orange-Fleshed sweet potato to combat food insecurity and climate threats.

The country is also innovating rice cultivation: The country is also experimenting with resilient rice varieties and a new cultivation technique called the Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) technique that is credited with reducing greenhouse emissions and water consumption by 12-35%.

DANGER ZONE-

Water demand is expected to soar due to conflict and tech sector expansion: Global demand for water is expected to surge due to intensifying conflicts in the water-scarce Middle East, data center growth, and population increases, CEO of Spanish utility group Cox Nacho Moreno told the Financial Times. Projected water needs will rise by 10-15%, doubling the market in four to five years, with the gap between water demand and availability expected to widen by 40% annually, he said.

What is Cox’s response? The company is planning to capitalize on this demand growth potential, preparing for a EUR 300 mn IPO and market capitalization of up to EUR 1 bn. The IPO is set to hit the floor on the Madrid Stock Exchange with a minimum of 25% of the company’s share capital, FT reported. Cox has also developed portable floating desalination plants to help meet water needs in MENA and plans to use IPO funds for long-term water service agreements and renewable energy projects across North America, Spain, and MENA.

Conflict and the water crisis compound each other: The water stress crisis being incurred around the world — amplified by climate change — could exacerbate local and regional conflicts. Water security and ecosystem preservation are closely linked to peace and prosperity and water or mismanagement can amplify conflict and inequalities, particularly impacting the most vulnerable populations. The cycle also works the other way where conflict exacerbates water stress, the report said. Seven Arab countries were in conflict as of 2021, posing significant challenges to water supply and infrastructure in the already water-stressed region.

We’ve already seen the effects of data centers in the US: The US “data center valley” in Virginia — the world’s largest concentration of data centers — has had its water consumption increase by almost 66% since 2019, reaching 7 bn liters. Big data centers are also located in water-stressed areas. In 2023, Microsoft said 42% of its water came from “areas with water stress,” and Google said 15% of its freshwater came from areas with “high water scarcity.”

***
YOU’RE READING EnterpriseAM Climate, the essential MENA publication for senior execs who care about the world’s most important industry. We’re out Monday through Thursday by 9am in Cairo and Riyadh and 11am in the UAE.

EnterpriseAM Climate is available without charge thanks to the generous support of our friends at HSBC and Infinity Power.

Were you forwarded this email? Tap or click here to get your own copy of Enterprise Climate.

Want to send us a story idea, request coverage, ask for a correction, or otherwise get in touch? Reach out to us on climate@enterprisemea.com.

DID YOU KNOW that we also cover Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the MENA logistics industry ?
***

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Egypt will host Cairo Water Week from Sunday, 13 October to Thursday, 17 October in Cairo. The event will explore the connection between water and climate and their impact on resilience in communities and will focus on investment in crisis management and intervention, and early warning systems for floods and droughts to ensure equitable access to clean and safe water.

Egypt will host the World Urban Forum from Monday, 4 November to Friday, 8 November in Cairo. The forum, established by the UN and one of its largest non-legislative events, will center around the effect of rapid urbanization on communities, economies, climate change, and policies and will bring together government representatives, academics, business people, urban planners, and more.

South Africa will host the Critical Mineral Africa Summit from Wednesday, 6 November to Thursday, 7 November in Cape Town. The summit aims to attract critical minerals investment to the continent and will be held alongside African Energy Week. The summit will be held in partnership with the Southern African-German Chamber of Commerce Partners representing Germany’s increasing investments in southern Africa.

Azerbaijan will host the United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties (COP29) from Monday, 11 November to Friday, 22 November in Baku. The annual conference brings together governments, world leaders, and other stakeholders to advance the Paris Agreement and negotiate ways to fight climate change. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s objective is to “stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system”.

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

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *