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Sustainability

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

Uzbekistan government officials with executives of SWS Holding, Uzsuvtaminot, Marubeni and Suez at the signing of the wastewater treatment plant agreement

UAE company involved in $1bn project in Uzbekistan

A consortium, which includes an Abu Dhabi state-owned company, is set to develop a $1 billion wastewater treatment plant in Uzbekistan. The group, comprising Abu Dhabi Sustainable Water Solutions Company, Japan’s Marubeni Corporation and France’s Suez, signed a development agreement with Uzbekistan’s investment, industry and trade ministry and state-run Uzsuvtaminot JSC. The project, located in […]

Researchers at Kaust's Polymer Synthesis Laboratory. Saudi Aramco and the university are investing $100m in R&D

Saudi Aramco and Kaust to invest $100m in R&D

Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil producer, and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust) are to invest $100 million in research and development projects.  The 10-year investment will support projects focused on energy transition, sustainability, materials innovation, upstream technologies and digital solutions, aiming for both environmental and commercial benefits.  The partnership will also […]

A Lucid vehicle in production. Electric vehicle usage in Saudi Arabia is still extremely low

Lucid taps PIF backer for $1.5bn cash injection

Saudi-backed US electric vehicle maker Lucid is to receive a cash injection of $1.5 billion from its majority stockholder Ayar Third Investment Company, an affiliate of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. “The additional $1.5 billion commitment by an affiliate of the PIF announced today is expected to provide sufficient liquidity into at least the fourth […]

Morocco carbon capture tax steel plant

Morocco lures manufacturers to avoid EU carbon taxes

Morocco is looking at investing in carbon dioxide capture and storage to attract manufacturers to the country who want to avoid the EU’s upcoming carbon tax on imports.  The European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which will come into effect in 2026, will tax imports of goods such as steel, cement and fertilisers into […]

Omani CO2 44.01

Amazon fund invests in Omani startup

Amazon is among a group of investors backing the Omani CO2 mineralisation startup 44.01 with $37 million in fresh funding. 44.01 won the 2022 Earthshot Prize for its development of a technique that harnesses the natural power of mineralisation in peridotite, a mineral that is found in abundance in the sultanate. The Series A funding […]

The Chittagong ship-breaking yard in Bangladesh. The industry is estimated to provide at least 50% of the country's steel

Bahrain signs ship recycling deal with Maersk

Bahrain has signed an agreement with Danish shipping and logistics company A.P. Møller-Mærsk to create a ship recycling plant in the country.  Maersk – the parent company of APM Terminals Bahrain and operator of Khalifa Bin Salman Port (KBSP) – will supply old vessels to the Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard Company, which will dismantle […]

Fertiglobe will ensure a secure supply of renewable hydrogen through the Egypt Green Hydrogen plant

Fertiglobe to supply renewable ammonia to Europe

Abu Dhabi-listed fertiliser maker Fertiglobe has won the first global bid to supply renewable ammonia to the European Union (EU) as the trade bloc ramps up decarbonisation efforts. The company, a partnership between UAE oil giant Adnoc and Netherlands-based OCI, will supply 19,500 tonnes of renewable ammonia in 2027, with volumes potentially rising to 397,000 tonnes by 2033 […]

Kazuhiko Amakawa, deputy governor of JBIC and Khaled Al Zaabi, Adnoc group CFO sign the agreement in Tokyo

Adnoc secures $3bn to advance decarbonisation plan

State-backed oil company Adnoc will use an AED11 billion ($3 billion) green financing facility from Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to accelerate its decarbonisation and energy transition initiatives. The deal follows a heads of agreement signed between the two entities in January, the UAE state-run Wam news agency reported. The facility is part of […]

morocco water

Morocco struggles to solve its water crisis

A seawater desalination plant that opened last month at Sidi Rahal near Casablanca is a major part of Morocco’s plans to tackle the country’s frightening decrease in water supplies. The plant will be built in two phases and is designed to produce 300 million cubic metres of water a year to supply 7.5 million people, […]

An EGA employee looks out over its Al Taweelah facility in Abu Dhabi. The electricity used in aluminium smelting makes up 60% of its carbon footprint

Adnoc, Emirates Global Aluminium and the outlook for net zero

It is a tall order. The UAE is striving to develop its industrial capacity while also decarbonising in a world that needs a 40 percent-plus reduction in emissions by the end of the decade to avoid devastating climate change. Two of the country’s biggest state-owned enterprises – Adnoc and Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) – are […]

Wind turbines above the village of Kotronas in the Peloponnese region. Greece's Terna Energy invests in wind, solar, hydroelectric and pumped storage projects

Masdar buys Greece’s biggest investor in renewables

The UAE’s state-owned clean energy company Masdar is to acquire a majority share in Terna Energy of Greece. The initial deal – one of the largest in the European renewables market and the biggest ever energy transaction on the Athens Stock Exchange – is for a 67 percent stake. The price of €20 ($21.45) per […]

Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio. A US VC fund backed by him plans to invest $50m in Mena climate tech startups

US firm to invest $50m in Mena climate tech

A US venture capital firm backed by Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio plans to invest $50 million in Mena climate tech startups over the next five years. Princeville Capital is targeting mature startups with strong growth potential, facilitating quick exits and a clear path to profitability, its co-founder Joaquin Rodriguez Torres told AGBI. The firm has […]

A condo terrace in Five's Dubai hospitality and residential project, Jumeirah Village

Dubai hotel developer pins success on green credentials

As protests against mass tourism sweep across Europe, the head of a Dubai-based developer with business in Ibiza said he is confident his company’s sustainability credentials can address such concerns. Kabir Mulchandani, founder and chairman of Five Holdings, believes that mounting apprehension around increasing visitor flows to the world’s most sought-after destinations is rooted in […]

Crowd, Person, Adult

Sustainability chief calls for tax on oil companies

Oil companies should be taxed and renewable alternatives incentivised in order to meet ambitious sustainability targets in the aviation industry, according to the sector’s industry trade body. “It’s too easy today to make money by drilling for oil,” said Dr Marie Owens Thomsen, senior vice president for sustainability and chief economist at the International Air […]

The American electric car maker Lucid, backed by Saudi Arabia, has teamed up with EVIQ

Saudi deal with Lucid powers up EV charging network

US electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid has partnered with a Saudi government entity to create a much-needed network of charging hubs around the Gulf state. There were less than 1,000 electric cars on the roads in Saudi Arabia in 2023.  Saudi-backed Lucid signed an agreement on May 29 with the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Company (EVIQ), which […]

The fish market in Sousse, Tunisia. The country hopes the first phase of its H2V deal will produce 5,000MW of renewable energy

Tunisia signs $6.5bn green hydrogen investment deal

Tunisia has signed a memorandum of understanding with French company TotalEnergies and Austrian group Verbund to produce green hydrogen (H2V). The first phase of the project, which is expected to cost €6 billion ($6.5 billion), aims to produce 200,000 tonnes of H2V per year, generating 5,000 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy and 2,000MW of electrolysis […]