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Good morning, nice people. We have a brisk issue this morning with all the latest updates from COP, an update on OQBI’s impending IPO, and 3Q earnings from Tabreed and Taqa. On COP29’s agenda today? It’s Food, Agriculture and Water day as negotiators hash out financing and phase down/phase out language in preparations for a final text at the end of the week. Nature and Biodiversity, Oceans and Coastal Zones will take place on Thursday, and final negotiations are set for Friday.
ICYMI, 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.
THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- Drama, on: Negotiators have been urged to “cut the theatrics” and get to action at COP29 as talks fall into disarray and multiple Western media outlets portray Saudi as the spoiler-in-chief. Ministers leading the talks, including top officials from Germany, Australia, and South Africa, have flown into Azerbaijan in a bid to put things back on track. Negotiators are being urged to make significant progress on a deal to provide developing countries with more funds for clean energy and climate adaptation. UN Climate Change executive secretary Simon Stiell emphasized the need for concrete action, urging delegates to “cut the theatrics and get down to real business.”
Eat the rich: G20 leaders are set to meet today to turn attention to sustainable development and the clean energy transition in a bid to lend a helping hand to frayed COP29 negotiations. The Rio summit pledged to impose taxes on the super-rich — and repeated a demand that the climate finance pool be expanded to “tns” not “bns” of USD. The call to tax bn’aires’ incomes by 2%, pushed by Brazil, is short on specifics.
The flavor in the western press? “Saudi Arabia is a ‘wrecking ball’ in global climate talks,” blares the headline in the New York Times. Bloomberg has a similar take.
^^ We have more COP29 coverage in the news well, below.
WATCH THIS SPACE-
#1- Morocco shortlists bidders for 3 GW interconnection project: The Morocco National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE) has reportedly initiated the review process for applications for the high-voltage 3 GW power cable linking the Moroccan city of Casablanca to the town of Dakhla in Western Sahara, Hesspress reports. The bidders include the US-based GE Vernova, Germany’s Siemens Energy, Power China, China’s TBEA, and India’s Larsen & Toubro. The selected “Engineering, Procurement, and Construction” (EPC) contractor will be tasked with the design, construction, and operation of the high-voltage transmission line. A long-term maintenance service agreement may also be included.
ICYMI- The project was first announced by Morocco’s National Office for Electricity last year. France first expressed interest in funding the 3 GW power cable back in April.
#2- Egypt is working on hitting 10 GW renewables capacity under NWFE by 2030: Egypt is targeting 10 GW of renewable energy generation by 2030 while decommissioning its 12 thermal plants of 5 GW capacity, according to a statement. Egypt has already added 4.7 GW of new renewable capacity since the launch of NWFE in 2022, powered mainly by the private sector and financing of USD 2.5 bn.
#3- UAE’s Emsteel is eyeing more action in Saudi and Egypt: Emsteel – which specializes in green steel production – wants to enhance its participation in Saudi’s Neom project and Ras El Hikma project in Egypt, CEO Saeed Al Ghaffari told Asharq Business. Emsteel aims to capture a 60% market share in the UAE while exporting its products to 70 countries globally, he added.
Emsteel is already decarbonizing the sector: UAE’s Masdar and Emsteel’s pilot program to produce steel using green hydrogen as a fuel became fully operational last month. The project uses energy from green hydrogen to extract iron from ore – an energy-intensive step essential to steelmaking. The renewable hydrogen used in the project has been certified by Avance Labs and validated by Bureau Veritas.
#4- More financing for Masdar + Socar’s Azerbaijan solar plants: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank have matched the Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s financing Masdar and Socar Green’s two solar projects in Azerbaijan, according to statements here and here. Each lender is funneling USD 160 mn in funding to the projects. The 445 MW and 315 MW solar projects in Bilasuvar and Neftchala will be commissioned in 2027, offsetting some 600k tons of CO2 annually and powering 300k homes.
THE SCORECARD-
The offshore wind industry is going off track: Offshore wind is now projected to fall short of its 2030 goals by a third, the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena)’s Director-General Francesco La Camera told Reuters. The struggling sector will serve a blow to the global push of tripling renewable capacity by 2030 which would require offshore wind to reach 494 GW, Irena says, up from the current 73 GW. Analysts say that this capacity won’t be realized until 2035, the newswire writes.
Costs are up: The average cost of offshore wind farms has surged to USD 230 per MWh, more than triple the cost of onshore facilities, leading companies like BP and Equinor to reconsider their investments. The rate is also 30% to 40% higher than offshore costs two years ago.
Many big countries will miss their goal: The US is expected to reach less than half of its 2030 target despite the Biden administration’s efforts to boost the industry with permits, lease sales, and tax credits. Meanwhile, European countries with high offshore wind targets, such as the UK and Germany, are also expected to miss their goals, achieving only 60% to 70% of their planned capacity, and Sweden has canceled some planned mega offshore projects over defense and security concerns.
But there’s hope for China: While the country is also slated to miss its goal of 60 GW of offshore wind power, the country is ahead globally, and its new offshore installations in 2023 accounted for more than half the world’s installations.
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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-
The UAE will host the World Energy Summit from Tuesday, 14 January to Thursday, 16 January in Abu Dhabi. The summit brings together energy industry leaders, policymakers, investment firms, and startups to create “blueprints for a sustainable future.”
Saudi Arabia will host the Future Minerals Forum from Tuesday, 14 January to Thursday, 16 January in Riyadh. The invite-only forum is a platform for stakeholders to come together to collaborate on and discuss mineral technology and exploration.
Bahrain will host the Sustainability Forum Middle East from Tuesday, 28 January to Wednesday, 29 January in Manama. At the forum, climate experts and decision-makers will discuss ways to meet decarbonization goals and ways to support businesses like SMEs to further their net zero efforts.
Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.
