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Cop28

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All the very latest on the climate change conference being held in Dubai, November 30 – December 12

Vicki Hollub, president of Occidental, speaking at Adipec 2023

Adnoc and Occidental look into UAE direct air capture

Adnoc and US petroleum giant Occidental are investigating the feasibility of building a direct air capture facility in the UAE. It would be the first such site outside the US, the companies said.  The preliminary engineering study is the latest project under an agreement signed by the companies earlier this year to explore carbon capture, […]

Renewables workforce nearly doubles in a decade

Employment in the renewable energy sector has almost doubled over the past decade, the International Renewable Energy Agency and International Labour Organization have found. There were 13.7 million jobs in the global industry in 2022, up from 7.3 million in 2012, the agencies said in the report Renewable Energy and Jobs: Annual Review. Employment growth […]

Hosting Cop29 ‘not on our radar’, says UAE

The UAE has played down reports that it plans to host next year’s Cop climate change summit, saying it is focused on running a successful Cop28 in Dubai this year.  A Cop28 spokesperson told AGBI that Cop29 “is not even on our radar”.  The UK’s Financial Times reported on Monday that the UAE wants to […]

Your guide to Cop28: news, views and analysis from AGBI

At the end of November, the world’s biggest climate change conference – the United Nations’ annual Conference of the Parties, better known as Cop28 – will begin in the UAE.  More than 80,000 delegates, 5,000 journalists and 140 heads of state are expected to attend the 14-day summit at Dubai’s Expo site. The host nation, […]

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Lead Headlines

Sultan Al Jaber Cop28

Al Jaber optimistic about world’s clean energy goal

Cop28 president designate Sultan Al Jaber expects the Cop28 climate summit to reach conensus to treble clean energy sources to 11 terawatts by 2030, he told an assembly at the Climate Future Week in Dubai on Saturday. Speaking at the event, part of a countdown to Cop28, Al Jaber stresssed the need to keep global […]

Mena youth climate anxiety

Climate anxiety rises among Mena youth

More than two-thirds of 18-to-24-year-olds in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) say they are “very concerned” about the potential impacts of climate change. More than half are ready to boycott brands that damage the environment, a survey shows.  Previously unreleased findings from the 15th annual Asda’a BCW Arab Youth Survey, published earlier this […]

Al Zeyoudi trade climate change

UAE minister urges trade to reduce environmental impact

Trade is the “lifeblood” of the global economy but it needs to urgently play a part in the fight against climate change, a UAE minister said on Wednesday. Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE minister of state for foreign trade, conceded that global trade “has one of the biggest contributions to make” to reducing […]

A worker at Shell's Pearl GTL facility in Doha, Qatar. The country has yet to set a net zero target

Majority of Mena countries lack net zero target, IEA warns

Just six out of 17 countries in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) have set a target for reaching net zero carbon emissions, hampering global efforts to tackle climate change, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).  The IEA has published a detailed update to its net zero roadmap of 2021. In the report, […]

Metito desalination project in Port Ghalib Egypt

Alpha Dhabi takes over water specialist Metito

Investment company Alpha Dhabi announced on Monday the acquisition of a majority stake in Metito Holdings, a company involved in the water and wastewater industry worldwide.  Pending regulatory approvals, the deal marks Abu Dhabi-based Alpha Dhabi’s entry into the water and wastewater sector, with its CEO saying the need for sustainable water solutions “has never […]

Climate health risks

Al Jaber: climate change health risks need more investment

Cop28 participating nations must increase financing to identify and mitigate climate change’s risks to human health, the summit’s president designate Sultan Al Jaber has said. “The connection between health and climate change is evident, yet it has not been a specific focus of the Cop process – until now,” Al Jaber told the UN General […]

Expo City Dubai will host Cop28. Sponsors will be able to showcase their brand and stage a corporate presence in the Cop28 UAE Green Zone

Cop28 unveils first round of sponsors

Mashreq, Emirates NBD, Investcorp and DP World have been announced as among the first round of official sponsors for the Cop28 climate change summit, to be held in Dubai later this year.  Sponsors have been selected by the Cop28 Sponsorship Committee, which comprises seven internal Cop28 departments and an independent third party, professional services company […]

Energy

Dr Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Cop28 president-designate, opened trading on Wall Street at the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday

Fossil fuel phase-down ‘inevitable’ says Al Jaber

Cop28 president-designate Sultan Al Jaber this week implored world leaders to cut reliance on fossil fuels to meet carbon reduction targets.  Addressing the UN Climate Ambition Summit in New York, Al Jaber – who is also group chief executive of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company – urged nations to fast track the transition to a […]

UAE prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid looks on as Masdar chairman Sultan Al Jaber and Dewa CEO Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer sign the solar park agreement

Next $1.5bn phase of Dubai’s solar park to be ready in 2024

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority and Masdar have signed an agreement to build and operate the 1,800-megawatt sixth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. The next phase of the world’s largest single-site solar park will cost AED5.5 billion ($1.49 billion).  “This phase will power over half a million residences while reducing […]

On completion in 2026, Adnoc's Habshan facility will be the second-largest carbon capture project in the Gulf

Adnoc approves project to triple its carbon capture capacity

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (Adnoc) has approved a new carbon capture, utilisation and storage project that will triple its annual carbon capture capacity. The project at its Habshan gas processing plant will be able to permanently store 1.5 million tonnes a year (mpta) of CO2 in subterranean rock below the site. On completion in […]

A petrol station in Riyadh. Saudi fuel subsidies represent 27% of GDP

Saudi Arabia has highest fuel subsidies per capita in G20

Saudi Arabia is by far the highest provider of fuel subsidies per capita among the G20 advanced economies, the IMF said this month as it called for fossil fuel price reforms to reduce carbon emissions.  The IMF Fossil Fuel Subsidies Data: 2023 Update working paper said Saudi Arabia spent almost $7,000 per person in 2022. […]

A man in Manama, Bahrain, uses a welding mask to watch a solar eclipse. In 2021 just 0.1 percent of Bahrain's total electricity generating capacity came from renewables

Bahrain signs deal for its biggest solar park

Bahrain has signed deals to build a 72 megawatt solar power plant in what will be the largest of its kind in the kingdom. The project, located in the southern region of Sakhir, will form part of Bahrain’s push to cut its carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2035 and hit its net zero target […]

Finance

A Bako electric car in Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia. Clean transport is one of the many sectors that can benefit from HSBC's $1bn fund

Mena companies can tap $1bn HSBC climate tech fund

HSBC has set aside $1 billion to help finance early-stage climate tech companies around the world, and “transformative investment opportunities” exist in the Middle East and Turkey, according to its regional chief.  “The Middle East has a key role to play in the transition to a net zero global economy,” said Patricia Gomes, regional head […]

“Climate change is already dramatically affecting us,” says IMF head Kristalina Georgieva

IMF lends Morocco $1.3bn to fight climate change

The International Monetary Fund is to lend Morocco $1.3 billion to help the country guard against climate-related risks. The staff-level agreement was confirmed by Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the IMF, who said the funding would be used to build resilience against future climate disasters. “Climate change is already dramatically affecting us,” Georgieva said in […]

Taqa executives and ADX officials at the listing of Taqa's dual-tranche bonds in Abu Dhabi

Taqa lists $1.5bn green bonds on Abu Dhabi exchange

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) has listed its dual-tranche $1.5 billion bonds on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX). The order book was nearly 10 times oversubscribed, with regional and international investors placing total orders of over $15 billion, the energy major said in a statement. The five-year $500 million notes, maturing in 2029, […]

Emirates Development Bank solar energy

UAE development bank in $27m SME solar energy drive

State-run Emirates Development Bank has launched a solar energy finance programme to support micro, small, and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the UAE to overcome cost barriers. The initiative will allocate AED100 million ($27.22 million) to support the adoption of green energy solutions, focusing on solar energy initiatives, the UAE state-owned Wam news agency reported. The […]

construction

Saudi water agency Global Water Organisation

Saudi water agency seeking global partnerships

A Saudi government body set up this week to address global water challenges hopes to collaborate with other organisations across the world to meet its goals, the kingdom’s environment minister said on Friday.  “The vision for this initiative is not just about creating a research and policy platform,” said Abdul Rahman Al Fadhli, Saudi Arabia’s […]

Taxi in UAE caught in flooding

UAE invests in battle against severe flooding

UAE government bodies and residents are working proactively to combat the impact of severe flooding, as climate change leads to increased levels of rainfall. Dubai Municipality said it received more than 100 emergency calls at the weekend as a result of severe weather conditions, and the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) has warned that heavy […]

Architecture, Building, Power Plant

Carbon targets deter Middle East power project developers

Developers are becoming increasingly wary of bidding for long-term infrastructure deals in the Middle East because the terms go beyond their own carbon neutral targets. According to industry sources they are particularly struggling to be able to work on projects involving thermal power plants without carbon capture and storage (CCS) because the terms can stretch […]

transport & logistics

aviation offsets

Aviation offset rules face shake-up as doubts persist

An imminent change to rules governing aviation carbon offsets ahead of the Cop28 climate conference may not be enough to convince airlines and others they have a meaningful effect, it has emerged. Aviation, like steel- and cement-making, is a hard-to-abate industry. It is difficult for companies within the sector to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide […]

DP World shipping polluters taxation

Call for shipping polluters to pay for their emissions

UAE multinational logistics company DP World has called for a global taxation on polluters in the shipping industry to pay for their emissions. The maritime services giant says new targets revealed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in July do not go far enough. At the 80th meeting of the IMO’s Marine Environmental Protection Committee […]

technology

A Bako electric car in Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia. Clean transport is one of the many sectors that can benefit from HSBC's $1bn fund

Mena companies can tap $1bn HSBC climate tech fund

HSBC has set aside $1 billion to help finance early-stage climate tech companies around the world, and “transformative investment opportunities” exist in the Middle East and Turkey, according to its regional chief.  “The Middle East has a key role to play in the transition to a net zero global economy,” said Patricia Gomes, regional head […]

A Rolls-Royce aircraft engine on display in Dubai in 2019. The British manufacturer will provide technical expertise to Qatar's Project Oryx

Qatar plans $5bn UK-Doha green tech centre

The not-for-profit Qatar Foundation, which supports education, research and community development projects, is to invest in a £4 billion ($5 billion) green energy research and development centre spanning the UK and Qatar.  The project has been dubbed the “MIT for UK energy transition” by organisers at management consultancy McKinsey & Co, The Sunday Times reported, […]

Bahrain Israeli tech net zero

Bahrain to use Israeli tech to achieve net zero goals

Bahrain aims to collaborate more with Israel on technologies that help it manage water and cope with climate change, as part of a broader boost in relations between the two countries, its ambassador to Israel said on Thursday. Along with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain in September 2020 signed an agreement to establish formal […]

Desert farming

Inside the $100m plan to transform desert farming

Total cropland in Mena countries decreased by 2.4 percent between 2003 and 2018 – the sharpest drop in the world – according to satellite imagery.   In response, a Beirut-based multilateral is seeking $100 million for a new programme to enhance innovation to increase farming productivity in a region that already had the lowest cropland […]

More News, comment & analysis

Foxtail millet could help Gulf food security

Resilient foxtail millet could aid Gulf food security 

Researchers in Abu Dhabi have identified what they claim is a highly climate-resilient cereal crop – never farmed at scale before in the Middle East – that could pose a solution to the region’s escalating food security problem.  Michael Purugganan, professor of biology at NYU Abu Dhabi, and his team published a study this summer […]

Gray, Outdoors