TODAY: Lots of green hydrogen news from Jordan and Morocco + Abu Dhabi inaugurates the world's largest single-site solar project

Good morning, ladies and gents. It’s a busy morning in our neck of the woods, and we have a nicely packed issue for you to kick off the day with. But first, some exciting news…

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THE BIG CLIMATE STORY- Jordan has signed an agreement with Irish-based renewables developer Amarenco and Zurich-based green hydrogen company H2 Global Energy for the development of a EUR 9 bn green ammonia generation project in the kingdom.

^^ We have the details on this story and more in the news well, below.

HAPPENING TODAY- The Aviation and Alternative Fuels conference is kicking off today and running through to Friday in Dubai. The event will bring together senior government officials and international organizations to assess progress in the development and deployment of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and lower-carbon aviation fuel measured according to the targets outlined in the 2050 Vision for SAF.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- The US and the Philippines partner on nuclear energy: The US has signed a landmark agreement with the Philippines that will allow it to export nuclear equipment and material to the Asian country for civil purposes in a bid to help it decarbonize its economy. The “123 agreement” signed in San Francisco on Thursday will see the two countries partner on knowledge transfer in the atomic power front, jointly developing small modular reactors to help realize the country’s target of incorporating nuclear energy as early as 2032. The Philippines is looking to tap into atomic power’s potential to help phase out coal after deactivating the country’s only nuclear energy plant in 1986 following the Chernobyl disaster.

The story made headlines in the international press over the weekend: Reuters | CNN | ABC News

WATCH THIS SPACE #1- UAE may set more ambitious NDC after ‘insufficient’ rating: The UAE’s Climate Change and Environment Minister Mariam Almheiri says the country may update its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) as early as next year after Climate Action Tracker rated the current plan as “insufficient,” Reuters reported on Thursday.

The country could update its NDC as early as 2024: While the UAE’s updated NDC in July helped improve its climate action rating from “highly insufficient” to “insufficient”, it is still off course to meet its net-zero target for 2050. The gap in the strategy on how the country will meet the Paris-agreed 1.5°C warming threshold remains “worryingly large,” CAT notes. Almheiri stated that the UAE is striving to achieve a better score in the next few years, hinting that it might be announcing another NDC that takes into account the global stocktake agreement scheduled for COP28. Almheiri notes that a new and updated UAE climate action strategy would tackle waste management and aim at ramping up carbon capture capacity.

Adnoc is partly to blame for the rating: The UAE’s Abu Dhabi National Oil Company — headed by COP28 President Designate Sultan Al Jaber — has committed to investing USD 150 bn to ramp up oil and gas production even after discovery of oil and gas wells with up to a 57 bn cbm capacity, according to CAT. Climate Analytics researcher at CAT Sarah Heck said that this will dwarf the impact of the Emirates’ planned USD 54 bn investment to triple renewables production by 2030.

WATCH THIS SPACE #2- Another Egypt-EU renewables interconnector in the works? The Egyptian government has signed an MoU with Belgian maritime builder Jan De Nul to begin feasibility and technical studies on their proposed Egypt-EU 2 GW subsea renewable energy link, according to a statement released on Thursday. Egypt is studying the establishment of five other interconnectors with the EU including the USD 4 bn EuroAfrica Interconnector project, the 3 GW Greece-Egypt Interconnector (GREGY), the 2 GW Greece–Africa Power Interconnector (GAP), Scatec’s proposed 3 GW link, and the Egypt-Italy 3 GW interconnector.

IN OTHER EGYPT NEWS- China’s LONGi wants to invest in Egypt’s green hydrogen and solar markets: Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly met with a delegation fromChina’s largest solar panel manufacturer LONGi to explore investment opportunities in Egypt’s green hydrogen and solar sectors, according to a statement released last week. The Chinese firm says it is looking to establish a green hydrogen plant, an electrolyzer factory, and a solar panel manufacturing facility with a 50 GW cell capacity to power its proposed green fuels project, LONGi’s Middle East Technical Manager Ahmed Ziada said in the statement. The expected timelines and investment tickets for the projects were not disclosed.

REMEMBER- LONGi has been looking to unlock investments in Egypt’s green hydrogen and solar energy sectors, and is in talks to supply panels to seven solar plants with different capacities in the country. The company is already supplying the solar arrays for Zhejiang Thermal Power Construction’s 200 MW solar farm in Kom Ombo. LONGi said in January it plans to invest CNY 45.2 bn (USD 6.7 bn) to build the world’s largest solar panel manufacturing base and double its production capacity.

WATCH THIS SPACE #3- EU sets methane emission limits on big oil: EU lawmakers reached a provisional agreement last Wednesday to set methane emission curbs for future oil and gas imports into the bloc, according to an EU Council statement released last week. The provisional agreement is yet to be endorsed and formally adopted by both the bloc’s council and parliament. The EU Commission will set out the exact methane caps once the pre-agreed deal gets final approval.

What’s in the deal: If passed, the EU’s new deal would seek to impose “maximum methane intensity values” on oil and gas imports by 2030, and will introduce new requirements for methane measurement, reporting and verification. The rules aim to oblige energy companies to regularly inspect pipelines and oil wells to check for methane leaks, and the measures will likely impact Algeria, the US, and Russia the most, Reuters reported last week.

ALSO- The US “Methane Finance Sprint” — which aimed to mobilize at least USD 200 mn during COP28 to help developing countries curb greenhouse gas emissions — will reportedly exceed its targets, AFP reported on Saturday, citing a US State Department source familiar with the matter. 150 nations have also signed up for the Global Methane Pledge — first proposed in 2021 to push down methane volumes by at least 30% by 2030, AFP notes. Ahead of COP28, the US and China have agreed to count all non-carbon greenhouse gasses including methane in the update of their national climate strategies. Methane is the second most abundant anthropogenic greenhouse gas after CO2.

DANGER ZONE- Adnoc would need “centuries” to capture the carbon it plans to produce from now till 2030: The amount of carbon the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) is set to produce between now and 2030 from fossil fuel burning and drilling would require 343 years to capture even if its CO2 storage plants operate at full capacity, according to new analysis by Global Witness. The company’s targeted carbon capture capacity by 2030 is 10 mn tons which represents only 2% of the estimated 492 mn tons of the greenhouse gas it will generate, the research notes.

Carbon capture is exacerbating the climate crisis, researchers say: “Rather than being a climate solution, CCS to date has largely helped drive the climate emergency. In 2021, 81% of carbon captured was actually used to produce more fossil fuels, as it was pumped underground to force out oil and gas,” Global Witness writes. The Energy Transitions Commission — which includes British oil giant BP — said in a report released on Thursday that the role CCS will play in offsetting emissions will be “vital but limited.” Hard-to-abate industries and fossil fuel producers relying on the tech to mitigate their carbon output are laboring under a “dangerous delusion,” it cautioned.

Adnoc CEO and COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber has been a proponent of CCS, and has called for an acceleration in emissions reduction tech rather than a fossil fuel phase-out at the Petersburg Climate Dialogue. The UN’s former climate chief Christiana Figueres has also said the language Al Jaber uses in reference to a potential phase-out agreement is “ dangerous.”

REMEMBER- Countries have not reached a consensus agreement on a divestment from fossil fuels. Despite a proposal to phase out CO2-emitting fossil fuels getting backing from more than 80 countries at COP27, Saudi Arabia and other oil and gas-rich nations blockedsupport for the idea later in July, which is similar to what happened at the G20 energy ministers meeting in July. Whether COP28 will be able to deliver a more tangible action plan for phasing out fossil fuels has been questioned by some groups who say the UAE has a conflict of interest on the phase down as both the summit host and a major oil producer.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The UAE will host the World Green Economy Summit from Tuesday, 28 November through to Wednesday, 29 November in Dubai. The event will bring together green tech developers and policymakers to explore pathways to accelerate the transition to net-zero sources and meet the Paris-agreed 1.5 °C warming threshold.

The UAE will host the Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW) from Monday, 27 November to Thursday, 30 November in Abu Dhabi. The event will gather government officials, banks, financial institutions, and VCs to delve into today’s most pressing economic, technological, and sustainability issues.

The UAE will host the Conference of the Parties (COP28) from Thursday, 30 November through to Tuesday, 12 December in Dubai. COP28 will be divided into Blue and Green zones with the former reserved for heads of states, government delegations, and UN bodies. The green zone — which will be open to the public — will serve as a central hub where developers, industry leaders, NGOs, and climate activists come together to explore pathways to accelerate the transition to clean energy. The zone will host over 300 talks tackling the climate crisis and showcase climate-focused interactive exhibits.

Oman will host its Green Hydrogen Summit from Tuesday 12, December through to Thursday, 14 December in Muscat. The two-day event will bring together green fuels developers, renewables companies, and policy makers in a bid to chart a course toward carbon-neutrality by 2050. Aside from the conference, the summit will also include masterclasses delving into the specifics of the green hydrogen value chain, from green electricity production to H2 production, distribution and storage. You can register for the event here.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.