Good morning, friends. It’s another day led primarily by news coming out of COP29 in Baku, although more of the focus is on what’s happening on the sidelines of the annual climate summit. Saudi Arabia launched the Regional Voluntary Carbon Market Company’s new carbon trading platform, with the first auction taking place yesterday, while a handful of agreements and new emissions pledges came out of the summit.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- Shell successfully appeals court order: A Dutch appeals court overturned a 2021 ruling that mandated energy giant Shell to cut its carbon emissions by 45% by 2030. The court acknowledged Shell’s duty to limit emissions but found insufficient consensus in climate science to enforce a specific reduction percentage. The decision marks a setback for environmental groups like Friends of the Earth, who had celebrated the original ruling as a major victory in the fight against climate change Despite the ruling, Shell maintains its commitment to becoming a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050.

The story made headlines in the international press: AP | Reuters | Bloomberg | The Financial Times | The Guardian | The NewYork Times | BBC | CNBC

COP WATCH-

Turkey reaffirms bid to host COP31: Turkey is a candidate to host the COP31 summit in 20126, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during his address at COP29 in Baku, Anadolu Ajansı reports. Erdogan underscored Turkey’s commitment to climate action through initiatives like the Zero Waste Project, which has prevented 5.9 mn tons of greenhouse gas emissions. He also outlined Turkey’s renewable energy goals, aiming to expand wind and solar capacity from 31 GW to 120 GW by 2035. Turkey first threw its hat in the ring to host COP31 back in December 2023.

Turkey is competing with Australia for the gig: Australia, with support from Pacific Island nations, is a leading candidate to host COP31, aiming to solidify climate action and boost green energy investment. Australia’s bid has wide national and international support, with several cities vying to host. Preparations are already underway, supported by a AUD 70 mn federal budget for climate diplomacy and summit logistics.

COP29 + FAO partner on farmer initiative: COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev and FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu signed an agreement to launch the Baku Harmoniya Climate Initiative for Farmers, according to a statement. The initiative aims to support farmers through the Agriculture for Sustainable Transformation (FAST) Partnership.

Socar + IntelliGrid partner on smart gas grids: Azerbaijan’s state-owned oil and gas company Socar signed an agreement with Esyasoft and Presight’s JV IntelliGrid to implement a smart gas grid management system, Azerbaijan state news agency Azertac reports. The agreement aims to use AI for data analysis, predictive maintenance, and real-time monitoring to optimize gas consumption and enhance operational efficiency.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Dubai advances eVTOL taxi project: The first of Joby’s four aerial taxi vertiports in Dubai was greenlit for construction near Dubai International Airport, Wam reports. The vertiport will span 3.1 sq km and will include zones for take-off and landing, aircraft charging, and a dedicated aerial taxi apron. The facility is expected to handle approximately 42k landings annually, serving around 170k riders annually.

This has been in the works: Joby Aviation is set to commence commercial services of its battery-powered air taxis in Dubai by late next year. The company plans to have the infrastructure needed to run the electric air vehicles ready this year, before running initial flights in 2H 2025, in preparation for a full commercial launch at the end of 2025. Skyport will design, construct and operate a network of vertiports, and RTA will be responsible for the air mobility services.

#2- Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa)’s pumped-storage hydroelectric plant in Hatta is 94.2% complete, with generator installations underway for trial operations starting in early 2025, according to a statement. This AED 1.4 bn project, the first of its kind in the Gulf, is designed to store and deliver energy efficiently, using water from an upper dam and clean power from the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.

How it works: The facility, with a capacity of 250 MW and storage of 1.5k MWh, operates by converting water’s potential energy into electricity, capable of supplying power to Dewa’s grid within 90 seconds to meet demand surges. The plant is scheduled for full completion by mid-2025.

#3- Cleantech market to triple over next decade: Based on current policy settings, the global market for clean technologies is set to triple from USD 700 bn to over USD 2 tn by 2035 — almost equal to the projected size of the world’s crude oil market, the International Energy Agency said in a report (pdf). Trade in cleantech is also expected to grow over the coming decade to USD 575 bn, which is more than 50% larger than the projected global natural gas trade.

What’s driving the increase? The growth of the global cleantech market comes on the back of rising investment in the manufacturing of technologies as countries try to increase energy security, maintain economic growth, and reduce emissions. China, the EU, the US, and India are leaders in the sector, but China comes out on top as the leading manufacturer of cleantech with a projected USD 340 bn in exports by 2035. That’s around the same as Saudi Arabia and the UAE’s projected combined oil export revenue.

The Global South also has potential: Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa account for under 5% of clean tech market value but have potential to become key players in the global market. Southeast Asia could emerge as one of the cheapest producers of polysilicon and wafers for solar panels over the next decade, Latin America can scale up wind turbine production, North Africa could become an EV manufacturing hub, and several sub-Saharan African countries could produce iron using low-carbon hydrogen.

#4- Indonesia plans to attract international investors for 75 GW of new renewable energy projects over the next 15 years, Reuters quotes Indonesia’s climate envoy Hashim Djojohadikusumo as saying at COP29. The renewable energy projects, including solar, hydro, geothermal, and nuclear, aim to transform Indonesia’s current energy landscape, where coal comprises over half of the energy mix for its 90 GW capacity, while renewables account for less than 15%. In support, Indonesia’s state utility company is developing a 70k km green transmission line to facilitate renewable power distribution.

And carbon credits are on the table: Indonesia also plans to initiate carbon offset programs and a reforestation project for 12.7 mn hectares of degraded land, Reuters writes. With potential support from the Bezos Earth Fund, these projects aim to remove hundreds of mns of metric tons of carbon from the atmosphere and bolster Indonesia’s environmental impact on a global scale.

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