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Sustainability

Sustainability and environmental business news from the Middle East. All the important stories, plus authoritative opinion and analysis

Sustainability overview

Sustainability news

Saudi Arabia ranks first in the Arab world and 10th globally in cement production

As prices rise, Saudi cement companies may seek alternatives

Cement companies in Saudi Arabia may be forced to turn to more sustainable alternatives after the prices of fuel products used in production rose for the second successive year. Saudi businesses have been given notice of the price increases, which came into effect from the start of this month. The price of methane, the main […]

Machine, Motor, Engine

DP World’s ‘blue bond’ to fund sustainable maritime projects

Dubai-based DP World has launched a $100 million blue bond to fund sustainable maritime and water-related projects. It will be the first such issuance across the Middle East and North Africa region, aiming to address critical funding gaps related to UN sustainable development goals. The blue bond aligns with DP World’s ocean strategy and long-standing […]

Bernard Looney, former CEO of BP, will join the board of Adnoc’s XRG

Former BP boss named on Adnoc’s investment board

Bernard Looney, the former CEO of BP, is among the board members of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s new lower carbon energy and chemicals investment company, XRG. Formed by Adnoc last month, XRG aims to more than double its $80 billion asset value over the next decade by capitalising on the demand for low-carbon energy […]

The UAE's first lithium battery recycling plant is expected to save an estimated 20,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year

UAE to get first lithium battery recycling plant

The UAE’s first lithium battery recycling plant will become fully operational by the second quarter of 2027. The facility, a collaboration with state-backed Kezad Group and Witthal Gulf Industries, a unit of Singapore-based Witthal Group of Companies, will have the capacity to recycle 5,000 tonnes of battery waste annually by 2027. The plant is expected […]

Morocco has manufactured one million vehicles annually, including four electric models, over the past two decades

Morocco partners with central African nations on EV plan

Morocco, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia have joined together to develop the infrastructure needed for electric vehicles (EVs), as they strive to lower their dependence on fossil fuels. The three nations will club their resources and experiences to support the development of EV batteries and battery precursors. Developing carbon-free transportation is essential […]

Masdar City's Central Park; the project was completed in 2022

Masdar City struggles to find contractors for cutting-edge projects

Masdar City, Abu Dhabi’s flagship sustainable eco-city project, is facing a shortage of contractors skilled enough to meet the demands of its ambitious projects, a senior executive has warned. Masdar, the UAE’s clean energy company, is the anchor tenant at Masdar City, with the Mubadala Investment Company, one of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth funds, ashareholder […]

A sandstorm in Jeddah. Saudi Arabia's Sand and Dust Storm Warning Advisory and Assessment System is based in the city

Saudi Arabia to invest $10m in sandstorm warning system

Saudi Arabia will invest $10 million over the next five years to support its global sand and dust storm monitoring initiative. The initiative, launched through its United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Cop16 presidency, will expand on existing international sand and dust storm capacity, overseen by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). Two billion tonnes […]

Saudi Red Sea coral

Red Sea coral to get extra protection from tourists

Saudi Arabia has vowed to implement a series of measures to protect its Red Sea coral reef over the next five years as it pushes ahead with major tourism projects in the area. But experts have warned that Saudi coral remains at risk, even with major spending policies.  According to the National Red Sea Sustainability […]

Renuka Jagtiani, chairperson, Landmark Group, at the launch of the textile recycling facility in Dubai

Landmark Group opens textile recycling unit

Retailer Landmark Group has opened a textile recycling facility at Dubai World Central that will convert clothes into fibre for new garments. The Dubai company launched a takeback programme last year at its Centrepoint and Max Fashion stores, and more recently at Home Centre and Home Box stores.  Clothes are brought to the recycling centre […]

A month after floods struck at the end of October, a man walks past damaged cars in Valencia, Spain

Gulf could turn a crisis into opportunity with catastrophe bonds

Torrential rains, flash floods, cars adrift in streets turned into rivers – these are scenes often seen these days, from Malaysia to Valencia. They are also becoming more common in the Gulf. Flooding in April 2024 in the UAE, for example, killed five people and cost $1.8-$2.3 billion in property damage, according to Gallagher Re […]

Muhammad Al Jasser of the Islamic Development Bank, second from left, at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Riyadh

Arab funds pledge $10bn to fight desertification

The Arab Coordination Group, an alliance of 10 development funds, is to provide $10 billion by 2030 to combat land degradation, desertification and drought, it was announced on the second day of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification event in Riyadh.  The commitment brings the total pledged to these interrelated causes at the two-week […]

French president Emmanuel Macron and Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Energy, attend the signing of the SAF agreement

Saudi and French companies link up for green projects

Saudi Arabia and France have signed commercial agreements to push the development of renewables and green fuel production in the kingdom. The agreements were signed at the Saudi-French Investment Forum, attended by French president Emmanuel Macron in Riyadh. Saudi Aramco, Saudi Investment Recycling Company (SIRC), a subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), and France’s […]

A woman sorts plastic bottles in Quezon City, Philippines. 170 nations took part in the latest round of UN talks

Latest talks on global plastics treaty end in stalemate

Negotiations over creating a legally binding global treaty to combat plastic pollution adjourned on Monday with the 170 participating nations failing again to reach agreement. Some oil-producing countries, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, objected to proposals supported by more than 100 other nations to limit plastic production, Reuters reported. Plastics are made from hydrocarbons – […]

Adnoc group CEO Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said XRG will create sustainable growth and foster technological innovation

Adnoc launches $80bn unit for low-carbon transition

State-backed energy major Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has launched a new global lower-carbon energy and chemicals investment company valued at more than $80 billion. XRG will aim to more than double its asset value over the next decade by capitalising on the demand for low-carbon energy and chemicals. The three factors driving demand […]

Experts says attendees at the Cop29 conference must agree binding rules on carbon credits to improve reliability and trust

Governments urged to agree carbon credit rules at Cop29

Experts have said governments need to reach binding agreements on carbon credits at Cop29 underway in Baku, Azerbaijan, to improve transparency, accountability and quality.  Among the topics being debated over the two weeks at the UN conference is Article 6 of the Paris Accord, which aims to help set rules on global carbon trade.  Countries […]

Solar panels at Dubai's Expo 2020. The UAE is making progress in renewable energy and has set ambitious NDCs to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions

UAE’s ambitious NDCs balanced by criticism over oil expansion

The UAE has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions nearly in half by 2035 under its updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), marking its most ambitious climate target to date under the Paris Agreement. While the UAE’s commitment to a 47 percent reduction positions it as a regional leader in climate action, its concurrent expansion of […]