Good morning, nice people. The regional climate news cycle has nearly ground to a halt as we slide into the weekend, but we have news on Jordan’s household solar program push and fresh financing for a Turkish solar plant. Also, don't miss our deep-dive into the state of biodiversity financing as COP16 continues in session.

COP WATCH-

The COP29 Presidency released the summit’s final texts of declarations and pledges as part of its action agenda, according to a statement. These pledges and declarations (pdf) are not part of the official negotiations and make no new commitments in numbers, with the exception of the COP29 Global Energy Storage and Grids Pledge which aims at increasing global energy storage by sixfold by 2030 to reach 1.5 TW.

The details: The pledges include a Truce Appeal — so far supported by 127 countries and nearly 1.1k non-state actors — calling for a pause in conflicts during the summit to reduce emissions from military activities. The other texts include;

• COP29 Green Energy Zones and Corridors Pledge
• COP29 Hydrogen Declaration
• COP29 Declaration on Green Digital Action
• COP29 Declaration on Reducing Methane from Organic Waste
• COP29 Multisectoral Actions Pathways (MAP) Declaration to Resilient and Healthy Cities
• COP29 Declaration on Enhanced Action in Tourism
• COP29 Declaration on Water for Climate Action

IN OTHER NEWS- Azerbaijan is set to significantly expand its fossil gas production over the next decade despite criticisms, The Guardian reports citing a report (pdf) by German NGO Urgewald. The state-owned oil and gas company, Socar, plans to increase annual gas production from 37 bn cubic meters to 49 bn cubic meters by 2033. The expansion comes despite Azerbaijan's climate action plan being rated "critically insufficient" by Climate Action Tracker.

Déjà vu? Echoing COP28 criticisms, the report criticizes the decision to choose a country with a vested interest in fossil fuels to oversee crucial climate negotiations. In 2023, Socar invested 97% of its capital expenditure into oil and gas projects, with minimal progress in renewable energy.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Saudi’s Industry and Mineral Resources Ministry is accepting bids for seven new mining exploration licenses across Makkah and Riyadh, covering an area of nearly 1.1k sq km, it said in a post on X. Bidding through the ministry’s Taadeen platform is open to both local and international investors, and is set to run until mid-November. The sites have reserves of key minerals including gold, copper, zinc, and silver.

It’s been a busy week: Earlier this week, the government shortlisted six companies bidding for the first batch of licenses as part of its Exploration Enablement Program (EEP) earlier this week. The program — rolled out earlier this year — aims to incentivize critical minerals exploration, including copper, lithium, and nickel, by reducing early-stage risks.

KSA has big mining ambitions: The government is supporting several incentives to attract local and foreign mining investors as part of a push to become a global hub for metals critical for the energy transition and become an EV manufacturing hub. The push is part of a larger strategy aiming to diversify the country’s economy away from oil.

#2- New finance guide can unlock extra USD 200 bn per year: The finance-sector-led Impact Disclosure Taskforce has released a voluntary guide that could help companies unlock an extra USD 200 bn per year for sustainable development financing, JP Morgan’s Development Finance head Arsalan Mahtafar told Reuters. The money can contribute to the USD 4.2 tn financing gap for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

How does the guide help? The guide contains a five-step methodology to help investors for ESG by evaluating the issuer's ESG strategy, products, and operations. The guide also recommends that issuers publish in advance the targeted impact, mechanisms to achieve it, and key measurement indicators. The guide could help drive “a market and an industry consensus of how development impact should be measured and disclosed," Mahtafar told the newswire.

#3- China’s automakers to double offshore manufacturing: Chinese automakers are rapidly increasing their investments in overseas full-process manufacturing capacity to bypass punitive EV tariffs and meet rising demand in emerging markets, according to BloombergNEF. This contrasts the country’s previous approach that favored building assembly lines abroad, where key car components were still made in China. Leading Chinese brands, including BYD, Chery, and SAIC, have announced 10 projects to expand overseas production capacity so far in 2023, with Thailand, Indonesia, and Brazil as major destinations.

China has been fighting massive EV tariffs: China initiated a trade dispute at the World Trade Organization (WTO) against Turkey earlier this month, targeting its 40% tariffs and restrictive import conditions on Chinese EVs and hybrids, describing the measures as “discriminatory” and “protectionist.” Earlier this month, China requested the WTO to rule on Canada’s recent 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs. The US has also recently confirmed 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs and excluded Chinese-made components from EV subsidies. Last Friday, the EU also passed a vote to apply up to 45% tariffs on Chinese-made EVs for five years.

DANGER ZONE-

#1- Devastating floods that recently struck Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria, and Sudan were made worse by human-caused climate change, according to a report (pdf) by World Weather Attribution (WWA). Global warming increased the intensity of this year’s seasonal downpours by 5% and 20% in the Niger and Lake Chad basins, respectively, resulting in the deaths of around 1.5k people and the displacement of over 1 mn, Reuters reports, citing the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The floods — intensified by overwhelmed dams in Nigeria and Sudan — are becoming increasingly common, with experts warning that if global warming reaches 2°C by the 2050s, such intense rainfall could occur almost every year instead of the current predicted frequency of once every 5 years and 10 years, for Niger and Lake Chad basins, respectively.

Intense rains are twice as likely to occur: In Sudan, unprecedented rainfall from June to August devastated large parts of the country, deepening an ongoing humanitarian crisis. Global warming has doubled the likelihood of such extreme rainfall events in the region, with climate models predicting even heavier rains as global temperatures continue to rise, the report found. The floods have exposed existing vulnerabilities like poverty, conflict, forced displacement, and inadequate infrastructure.

Policy changes are needed: Addressing these issues requires urgent improvements in water management, climate-resilient infrastructure, and better transboundary cooperation for early warning systems to mitigate future disasters, according to the WWA.

#2- The combined effects of microplastics and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — known as forever chemicals — is significantly more harmful to aquatic life than each in isolation, according to a new study (pdf) published in the journal Environmental Pollution. Together, these chemicals lead to more severe toxic effects, including developmental failures, delayed maturity, and stunted growth in aquatic species.

And previous chemical exposure heightens risks: Previous exposure to pollutants made organisms less tolerant to these harmful chemical combinations, with interactions between the chemicals resulting in 59% “additive” and 41% “synergistic” effects, the study found. "Understanding the chronic, long-term effects of chemical mixtures is crucial, especially when considering that previous exposures to other chemicals and environmental threats may weaken organisms' ability to tolerate novel chemical pollution,” lead researcher Luisa Orsini said.

Why does it matter? Current policies and regulations on chemical toxicity are derived from studies focusing on acute exposure and individual chemicals, according to the study's co-lead Mohamed Abdallah. This study, however, differs from its counterparts in that it focuses on the combined effect of multiple agents and the impacts of long-term exposure. “It is imperative that we investigate the combined impacts of pollutants on wildlife throughout their lifecycle to get a better understanding of the risk posed by these pollutants under real-life conditions,” Abdallah added.

What’s next? There is a need for new regulatory frameworks to address the combined impact of chemical pollutants, which pose a growing threat to wildlife and potentially humans, the researchers found. These findings call for urgent policy changes to better protect the environment from complex chemical interactions.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Saudi Arabia will host the Future Investment Initiative Conference from Tuesday, 29 October to Thursday, 31 October, in Riyadh. The conference will gather entrepreneurs, political leaders, and decision-makers to explore investment options in AI, sustainability, energy, and more.

Egypt will host the World Urban Forum from Monday, 4 November to Friday, 8 November, in Cairo. The forum, established by the UN and one of its largest non-legislative events, will center around the effect of rapid urbanization on communities, economies, climate change, and policies and will bring together government representatives, academics, business people, urban planners, and more.

South Africa will host the Critical Mineral Africa Summit from Wednesday, 6 November to Thursday, 7 November, in Cape Town. The summit aims to attract critical minerals investment to the continent and will be held alongside African Energy Week. The summit will be held in partnership with the Southern African-German Chamber of Commerce Partners representing Germany’s increasing investments in southern Africa.

Azerbaijan will host the United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of theParties (COP29) from Monday, 11 November to Friday, 22 November, in Baku. The annual conference brings together governments, world leaders, and other stakeholders to advance the Paris Agreement and negotiate ways to fight climate change. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s objective is to “stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system”.

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