Good morning, folks. We have a fairly balanced news day, although Turkey is in the spotlight as more green loans and tender announcements flow in.

PLUS- As the US presidential elections get underway today, we dive into the potential impact of the vote’s outcome on climate policy.

^^ We have the details on this story and more in the news well, below.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- Methane emissions are getting some ink ahead of COP29 as emissions reach record levels despite offset pledges. The International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) flagged over 1.1k methane plumes since 2022, yet only a small fraction of these emissions have been successfully addressed. Methane, a potent greenhouse gas 80 times more powerful than CO2 in the shorter term, remains at near-record levels, with global concentrations rising faster than ever.

Industry action is limited: IMEO identifies methane leaks using satellite data to help nearly 160 nations fulfill a pledge to cut emissions by 30% by 2030. However, actions taken by companies and governments following IMEO alerts have been minimal, Manfredi Caltagirone, the head of the organization, said.

There may be other culprits, and the worst of them could be a new feedback loop: One study — published in October in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences — suggests that the main culprit for the greenhouse gas’ dramatic growth in the atmosphere is microbes – which exist in cattle guts, wetlands, waste, and agricultural land. The study warns, however, of a possible feedback loop in which previous emissions are leading to microbial multiplication at faster rates.

The story made headlines in the international press: AP | Bloomberg | Washington Post

HAPPENING TODAY-

Egypt is hosting the World Urban until 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.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

South Africa will host the Critical Mineral Africa Summit tomorrow and Thursday 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.

COP29 SCHEDULE-

YOUR GUIDE TO COP- COP29 is starting next week. Here’s a handy guide (pdf) for the main thematic days and what to expect and a full rundown of all the panels, workshops, discussions, debates, and keynote speeches.

DAYS TO LOOK FORWARD TO-

12-13 November: World Leaders Climate Action Summit

14 November: Finance, Investment and Trade

15 November: Energy, Peace, Relief and Recovery

19 November: Food, Agriculture and Water

21 November: Nature and Biodiversity, Oceans and Coastal Zones

22 November: Final Negotiations

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Turkey’s Energy Ministry issued a new YEKA solar tender allocating 800 MW for six projects across six provinces, according to an official statement. Applications for the solar tender will open on 27 January, 2025.

The details: Turkish companies and foreign firms classified as capital companies can participate. The projects will have a ceiling price of USD 55 per MWh and a floor price of USD 32.5 per MWh. Additionally, a 20-year electricity purchase period will follow an initial five-year freemarket sales period. The projects’ capacities range from as low as 30 MW, as in the cases of the Antalya and Kütahya plants, and as high as 385 MW for the Karapınar farm.

REMEMBER- Turkey just published its 2035 Renewable Energy Roadmap: This is the second YEKA tender the country released after its recently announced renewable energy roadmap — which targets 120 GW in combined solar and wind capacity by 2035.

#2- GE Vernova completes decarbonization FEED for major Saudi gas plants: GE Vernova and Saudi Arabia’s Ash Sharqiyah Operations & Maintenance Company (ASHOMCo) have completed three Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) studies aimed at identifying the best techniques to lower carbon emissions from three cogeneration plants in Saudi Arabia, according to a press release. The plants are mainly powered by GE Vernova’s 7E and 7F gas turbines.

Among the study’s recommendations: The study looked at potentially shifting shifting operations to use a blend of hydrogen and natural gas and delivered recommendations on needed modifications for the plants’ combustion systems to make the transition. The study also recommended the use of Vernova’s Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) system for carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) to achieve the Saudi company’s target of reducing emissions by 95% and said that the EGR system could potentially reduce the fixed cost of the CCUS facility by over 7% and the annual operational costs by 6%.

About the plants: The cogeneration plants — maintained and operated by ASHOMCo — are owned by the Aramco-backed special-purpose company Power Cogeneration Plant Company. Together, the plants deliver up to 920 MW of power and 1400 tons/hr of steam. PCPC has been in a 20-year power purchase agreement with the state-owned Aramco since the mid-2010s.

#3- Supporting Egypt’s objectives in “greening the economy” is one of three main areas that will be discussed during the IMF’s fourth review of Egypt’s IMF loan program, which will begin today, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said in a presser attended by EnterpriseAM on Sunday. Private sector support and financial and macroeconomic stabilization were the other two areas.

Could Egypt finally unlock climate financing from the IMF? The IMF team will be discussing green financing through its Resilience and Sustainability Facility next week, Georgieva said. The government applied for an additional USD 1.2 bn in long-term, low-cost climate financing from the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility back in August.

IN OTHER EGYPT NEWS- A MoU between Austria and Egypt on renewable energy and green hydrogen is in the works, Austrian Commercial Counsellor Georg Krenn told Al Borsa. The Egyptian government’s incentives and tax breaks for the clean energy sector are particularly attractive for several Austrian companies, added Krenn. The MoU could be ready around March 2025 during a scheduled Cairo visit by a delegation of representatives from more than 15 Austrian companies.

#4- Acwa Power is looking to triple its production capacity to 180 GW by 2030, and also increase its desalination production to 8 mn cubic meters per day — making it the world’s largest private desalination company, Argaam quotes its CTO Bart Bosmans as saying. The renewables giant’s investments are split right down the middle in their distribution across local and foreign markets, Bosmans said.

#5- The Saudi Power Procurement Company initiated the bidding process for four battery energy storage projects located in the Makkah, Qassim, and Hail regions, each with a capacity of 500 MW and a storage duration of four hours, according to a statement. The selected bidders will have full ownership and will develop the projects under a build-own-operate model. Each project will be part of a 15-year agreement with the main buyer, the statement read. No details regarding the investment tickets were disclosed. The project is part of the Energy Ministry’s national renewable energy program.

DANGER ZONE-

E-waste could “escalate beyond control” due to AI demand: As demand for generative AI surges, electronic waste (e-waste) is expected to reach 1.2-50 mn metric tons by 2030 as well, according to a study published in Nature Computational Science.

The study found that e-waste could reach five mn tons per year, but the scientists believe their projections could actually be an underestimation as the AI industry grows rapidly and server turnover due to operational cost reductions accelerates. According to the MIT Technology Review, this would account for 12% of the annual e-waste generated by the world each year.

There are ways to reduce e-waste: The study recommended developing a circular economy, which could lead to a 16-86% reduction in e-waste generated. Part of this would include prolonging the use of existing products to delay replacement, refurbishing, and reusing components, and extracting valuable materials through recycling. Designing the products in a way that makes recycling and refurbishing easier could be key, the study’s co-author Asaf Tzachor told MIT Technology Review.

What is e-waste? E-waste refers to waste from electrical and electronic equipment and accounts for 5% of all solid waste, according to Britannica. In the case of AI-linked e-waste, this could include GPUs, CPUs, and memory and storage devices. The waste often contains harmful substances, such as lead, mercury, and chromium, that damage health and the environment. At the same time, there are useful materials that can be recovered, including copper, gold, aluminum, and rare earth elements, which sets it apart from regular municipal waste.

There have been efforts to reduce e-waste in the region: Tadweeer signed last year a USD 11.36 mn agreement with KSA-based firms Tebrak Trading & Contracting Company and Mounes Mohamed Alshayeb for Civil Construction for the development of e-waste repurposing plants in Saudi. Egypt’s government also recently said a group of Mauritian investors was exploring the possibility of constructing a large-scale electronic waste recycling facility in Egypt to extract gold, platinum, silver, palladium, and copper from electronic devices and convert plastic waste into fuel. Last May, UAE-based waste management company Tadweer Group acquired 100% of the Dubai-based e-waste specialist Enviroserve — dubbed as the only integrated e-waste processor in the Middle East, Africa, and the Caucasus region.

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