Good morning, folks. It’s a busy end to the week with lots of solar and investment news updates to unpack, but first, some interesting green energy news from the Pope himself…

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- There’s no single headline dominating the foreign climate press, but Pope Francis has greenlit a solar farm to power Vatican City. The farm would be located in Santa Maria di Galeria, Rome which belongs to the Vatican, but the capacity and expected completion have not yet been disclosed. The construction will be handled by the cardinal who governs the Vatican mini-state and manages the city’s portfolio, similar to a central bank. The chosen site for the new farm has faced much controversy in the past for emitting electromagnetic waves due to the Vatican Radio towers housed there, although the Vatican has denied the claims. The story grabbed ink in Reuters, AP, and The Washington Post.

AND- Former Chinese science and technology minister Wan Gang — considered the father of the Chinese EV industry — says the EU tariffs are politically motivated and not supported by a number of EU states, Bloomberg reports. “Confrontation isn’t the way to go — it’s especially pointless to go against technological innovation. The most important thing is to keep negotiating,” Wan said at the World Economic Forum’s Summer Davos event in Dalian, China this week.

Trade between the two sides has taken a hit for years: Part of the tension coming from the bloc is due to Chinese foreign investment not keeping up with the volume of exports, Wan said. The Comprehensive Agreement on Investment between China and the EU has been stalled since 2021 due to geopolitical frictions over human rights issues in Xinjiang, Bloomberg writes.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Masdar sets sights on US growth: Masdar is also looking to grow “beyond tenfold” in the US over the next three to seven years, President and Chief Executive of Masdar Americas Philip Haddad said during the 2024 SelectUSA Investor Summit, according to The National. Masdar aims to achieve this through investment in development and operating platforms, and already signed an agreement to acquire a 50% stake in US renewables firm Terra-Gen Power Holdings in March.

REMEMBER- Masdar wants to achieve 100 GW of global energy capacity by 2030. In the US, Masdar finalized its acquisition of a 50% share in EDF Renewables North America’s 128 MW Big Beau solar plant in California last year. In 2020, Masdar and EDF inked an agreement to jointly co-develop eight US-based renewables plants that would yield a total of 1.6 GW. The company’s portfolio in the US currently consists of four wind projects in Texas and New Mexico and five solar projects in California.

IN OTHER MASDAR NEWS- Masdar is eying a 49% stake in Indian green hydrogen and ammonia producer Hygenco for USD 400 mn, Indian news outlet Mint reports. Other bidders for Hygenco include China’s AIIB and Australia’s Macquarie Group. The funds will help Hygenco develop 10 GW of production and distribution assets by 2030.

#2- Lafarge Egypt runs on 33% alternative fuel: Construction heavyweight Lafarge Egypt now uses alternative fuel to power 33% of its activities, Geocycle and Sustainability Director Adham El Mahdy told Amwal Al Ghad. The company also plans to implement renewable energy projects as part of its goal to reduce emissions by 8% annually until 2030 to reach a 72% decrease, up from the 50% goal it announced last year. These projects include solar power to meet electricity needs, with studies currently being conducted in collaboration with Egypt’s New and Renewable Energy Authority. Lafarge is also planning to produce green cement and concrete using more environmentally friendly materials.

REMEMBER- Demand for low-carbon cement is on the rise in Egypt: Lafarge Egypt has used 20k of its eco-friendly ECOPlanet cement in the construction of Egypt’s Iconic Tower in the New Administrative Capital, which helped reduce the project’s overall carbon emissions by 60%.

Lafarge is active in the UAE too: Lafarge has been trying to promote the use of its low-carbon concrete ECOPactacross different markets. Last year, the ECOPart green concrete used by a UAE contractor helped slash CO2 emissions by 45%. The UAE’s Environment Ministry signed an MoU with Lafarge Emirates to include fuel generated from municipal solid waste by waste management company Emirates RDF into their energy mix in 2022.

#3- The World Bank aims to raise the value of Egypt's carbon market to USD 120 mn, up from USD 3 mn in 2023, Al Borsa reports. As of 2023, Egypt had roughly 100k carbon certificates issued, but WB is working on helping the country reach 4 mn certificates by 2027. The goal comes as part of the lender’s recently approved USD 700 mn in Development Policy Financing to bolster Egypt’s development, including its green transition.

ON A RELATED NOTE- The Egyptian Carbon Center is looking to obtain a verification license: The Egyptian Carbon Center (ECC) is aiming to acquire a verification and validation license in the voluntary carbon trading market from the Financial Regulatory Authority soon, ECC CEO Omar Ghaly told Al Borsa in an interview. The Center seeks to cooperate with the voluntary carbon market in developing companies’ carbon footprints and acts as an intermediary between carbon certificate issuers and global companies.

More about the center: The ECC offers a range of services, including environmental consulting, carbon and water footprint reports, energy efficiency, sustainability strategies, sustainable events, auditing, and carbon unit trading, the report adds. It also collaborates with universities to issue carbon footprint reports and has recently launched an “energy consumption monitoring and auditing” service for factories. The center plans to expand into the UAE and Qatar markets and has started collaborating with a company in Saudi Arabia to export its services.

#4- Norway is offering up large portions of the Arctic for controversial deepsea mining licenses with the aim to award exploration permits in 1H 2025, Reuters reports. The country will become the first globally to kick off commercial deepsea mining after greenlighting the decision in January. The move has angered environment activists who plan to challenge the decision in court.

Background: The 280k sq km of seabed in the Arctic waters between Norway and Greenland is rich with minerals critical to the energy transition, including precious metals (gold, silver), metal ores (manganese, nickel, cobalt, copper), as well as rare earths critical to electric vehicle production.

The consequences are alarming: Scientists say oceanic mining comes at the expense of a substantial impact on the environment including the destruction of natural habitats and the USD 5.5 bn tuna industry, in addition to creating sediment plumes that disrupt aquatic life and the ocean’s ability to capture and sequester CO2. A number of countries including France have called to halt the practice until there is more information on the environmental impact, Reuters writes.

REMEMBER- China and Russia contested US attempts to claim an additional 1 mn sq km of seabed in its continental shelf containing critical minerals like copper, nickel, cobalt and manganese back in March. The objections come after the US said it would extend its jurisdiction over a resource-rich seabed area that makes up its continental shelf back in December.

DANGER ZONE-

Experts are warning of a significant rise in heat-related deaths amid unprecedented heatwaves, UN special adviser on climate change Selwin Hart told The Financial Times. Middle Eastern countries are experiencing near-record temperatures of almost 50°C in some areas, months ahead of the usual peak. Some parts of Europe hit close to 40°C. India is also struggling with its longest heatwave while in the US the heat is affecting close to 100 mn people. The extreme heat has already claimed over 1.3k lives during the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

Immediate action is needed: UN and climate envoys stress the importance of immediate action to mitigate the impacts of these soaring temperatures, particularly in economically disadvantaged communities, the FT adds. Data from the World Meteorological Organization and Copernicus indicates a worrying trend of increasing heat-related deaths, with a 30% rise in Europe over the past two decades. Scientists also predict this summer could be the hottest on record, underscoring an urgent need for global efforts to address the root causes of the rising heat.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Turkey will host the Nuclear Power Plants Summit & Expo from Tuesday, 2 July to Wednesday, 3 July in Istanbul. The event will gather utility companies, independent power producers, government officials, and industry leaders to explore nuclear power projects, plans, products and tech solutions.

Egypt will host the Egypt Mining Forum from Tuesday, 16 July to Wednesday, 17 July in Cairo. The event will convene decision-makers from government, industry experts, new exploration firms, financiers, and investors to explore the challenges and advantages to establish Egypt as a leading global mining hub by 2040.

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

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