Analysis Markets Real estate trusts struggle despite strong Dubai market Dubai’s resurgent property market has delivered riches to property owners and shareholders of leading developers like Emaar Properties, but investors in two listed Dubai real estate investment trusts – Emirates REIT and ENBD REIT – are nursing sustained losses. Both trusts are listed on Nasdaq Dubai. The emirate’s international bourse launched in 2005 with the […] December 6, 2023
Video length: 05:05 VIDEO Renewable Energy Gulf’s biggest asset is ‘sun in the sky’ – not its oil reserves The Middle East could become a powerhouse of green industrialisation by exploiting its vast renewable energy sources, the chair of the Energy Transitions Commission has told AGBI at the Cop28 summit in Dubai. “Your long-term asset in this region is not the oil under the ground, it’s the sun in the sky,” said Adair Turner, […] December 6, 2023
Energy John Kerry unveils US roadmap for nuclear fusion John Kerry, the US special envoy on climate, has unveiled his country’s roadmap for international collaboration on nuclear fusion. Speaking on the sidelines of the Cop28 summit on Tuesday, Kerry said he believed fusion could provide abundant clean energy without the harmful emissions of traditional sources. “Fusion can be a critical piece of the energy […] December 5, 2023
Construction Concrete institute launching low carbon building code The American Concrete Institute is unveiling what it claims is the first-ever low carbon building code at the Cop28 climate conference. Building codes are a set of rules that standardise the construction process. They have historically focused on safety and serviceability, but must now address sustainability needs, Antonio Nanni, a professor at the University of […] December 5, 2023
Sustainability Nations pledge to cut cooling emissions by 68% by 2050 More than 60 countries have backed a pledge at Cop28 to cut air conditioning and related emissions by 68 percent of 2022 levels by 2050. They did so as a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) found that global cooling capacity will treble by then. The Global Cooling Pledge marks the world’s first collective focus on […] December 5, 2023
Energy Masdar signs $16bn alliance with Spain’s renewables giant Green energy companies Iberdrola and Masdar announced a €15 billion ($16.3 billion) partnership agreement on Tuesday to explore joint offshore wind and green hydrogen projects across the world. After a co-investment in Baltic Eagle wind farm in Germany, the two parties will invest in the 1,400MW UK East Anglia 3 offshore wind project. The deal, […] December 5, 2023
Saudi schools ‘doing better at maths but still lagging behind’ Saudi Arabia’s schools have improved in the past few years, but are still below the international average and a long way behind the best performers, according to the OECD. Teenagers from 81 countries were tested for the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa), which published its 2022 report on Tuesday. The tests measured the […] December 5, 2023
Energy Improving energy efficiency key to 1.5C target, says expert The world will miss its target to limit global warming to 1.5C if it does not prioritise energy efficiency in the decarbonisation process, a renewables expert has warned. “We always say that energy efficiency is the lowest-hanging fruit,” said Dr Nawal Al Hosany, vice chair of the Global Council on Energy Efficiency. “However, it’s like […] December 5, 2023
Infrastructure Gulf telcos sign deal to create $2bn tower company Telecom operators Ooredoo and Zain Group on Tuesday said agreements have been signed to create the largest tower company in the Middle East and North Africa. The cash and share deal, which also involves Dubai-based Tasc Towers Holding, will establish a company comprising 30,000 telecom towers in Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq, Algeria and Tunisia, with […] December 5, 2023
Opinion Aviation Air India’s protectionism could alienate the Gulf India's national carrier has lashed out at the region – but it may come to regret it December 5, 2023
SPECIAL REPORT Infrastructure After stops and starts, GCC rail is back on 2030 timetable In the same week that Dubai announced a 30km extension of its metro network, Kuwait revealed that its $20 billion four-line metro project is to be cancelled. If anything sums up the difficulties associated with connecting the GCC countries by rail, then it is this. Kuwait’s metro hit the buffers as a result of “significant […] December 5, 2023
Energy Vladimir Putin to visit UAE and Saudi Arabia this week Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit the UAE and Saudi Arabia this week, Russian news outlet Shot reported on Monday, citing Putin’s aide Yury Ushakov. The reported visit comes after the Opec+ group of oil producers, which includes all three countries, agreed last Thursday to voluntary output cuts totalling about 2.2 million barrels a day […] December 5, 2023
EXCLUSIVE Banking & Finance UAE sets up bankruptcy court to rule on disputes The UAE is overhauling its bankruptcy and restructuring law, introducing a specialist court to oversee disputes. The legislation – formally Federal Law Decree No 51 of 2023 – comes into force on May 1, 2024, and replaces the 2016 bankruptcy framework. It will emphasise the importance of amicable resolutions, broadening the scope for debtors to […] December 5, 2023
Energy Al Jaber promises Cop28 is focused on ‘the science’ Dr Sultan Al Jaber defended his work as president of Cop28 on Monday, after criticism of remarks he made about climate science. “Everything this presidency has been working on, and continues to work on, is focused and centred around the science,” he told reporters in a press briefing at the UN summit. The Guardian newspaper […] December 4, 2023
Video length: 06:23 Banking & Finance How banks are navigating fossil fuel financing Banks are navigating a complex battleground over fossil fuel phase-out: deciding whether or not to fund companies in oil and gas and other high-emitting sectors, they told a Dubai event staged in parallel with the Cop28 summit. The chief executive of ING, the Netherlands’ biggest retail bank, said the company had stopped providing dedicated finance […] December 4, 2023
Banking & Finance UAE banks to increase green financing to $272bn Major national banks in the UAE are to boost their green financing commitments, aiming to exceed a collective AED1 trillion ($272 billion), sources have told AGBI. The banks aim to accelerate financing in areas such as assisting businesses in transitioning to zero carbon emissions, particularly in harder to abate and small and medium-sized enterprise sectors. […] December 4, 2023
Sustainability Dubai businesses stepped up sustainability ahead of Cop28 Dubai companies accelerated their sustainability initiatives in the run-up to the UAE’s hosting of the Cop28 summit, which commenced on Thursday. According to a survey of Dubai companies conducted by AGBI and the British Business Group (BBG), more than one quarter (26 percent) of the BBG’s 72 members said they had ramped up their sustainability initiatives in the […] December 4, 2023
Sustainability Abu Dhabi fund launched to conserve Amazon rainforest The One Amazon Impact Fund, which will be headquartered in Abu Dhabi and was officially launched on the sidelines of Cop28 in Dubai, expects to launch its first offering in Q1 2024, raising funds to preserve the 750 million-hectare Amazon rainforest. The fund will sell digital tokens representing the perceived value of one hectare of […] December 4, 2023
Energy UAE among nations vowing to treble global nuclear capacity Leaders from 21 countries have pledged to treble global nuclear capacity by 2050, in a bid to advance the transition towards net zero. Nine heads of state endorsed the declaration to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050 during the Cop28 summit, the UAE state-owned Wam news agency reported. Canada, Czechia, Ghana, Finland, Hungary, Japan, Moldova, […] December 4, 2023
Exclusive Energy Shift fossil fuel subsidies to renewables, says lobby chief Ramping up renewables while increasing oil output “sends the wrong signal” and is not the best way to tackle climate change, says the chief executive of Global Renewables Alliance, a policy group representing the clean energy industry. “Yes, the two can be done in parallel,” Bruce Douglas told AGBI at Cop28 in Dubai. “But we […] December 4, 2023
