Good morning, friends. The news cycle is picking up slightly as we inch closer to the weekend with some industry updates emerging from the UAE…

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY- UAE’s Masdar has signed a Strategic Supply Partnership (SSP) with French shipping and logistics company CMA GGM to explore the feasibility of striking up a long-term green maritime fuels offtake agreement to supply CMA CGM vessels,

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

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- No single story is dominating the headlines, but a BloombergNEF (BNEF) report circulated yesterday indicates that while global clean energy investments rose 17% y-o-y to a record USD 1.8 tn in 2023, the financing is still far short of the USD 4.8 tn needed annually through to 2030 to scale up decarbonization technologies in order to meet Paris Agreement targets.

Behind the numbers: Bloomberg’s figures account for funding channeled toward renewables and hydrogen production projects, and EV purchases and other decarbonization technologies, but do not factor in investments toward building clean energy supply chains (USD 900 bn last year). Although there were some improvements in 2023, including China’s allocation of USD 676 bn last year toward clean energy investment and a global EV y-o-y spending climb of 36%, global clean energy investments need to surge 170% to realize a net-zero pathway, BNEF notes.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1-Morocco, GE launch decarbonization project: Morocco’s National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE) and Nareva — owned by the royal family’s holding company Al Mada — have signed an agreement with GE Vernova to conduct a two-year feasibility study to explore the viability of using green hydrogen to decarbonize ONEE’s 99 MW Laâyoune Thermal Power Plant, according to a statement. GE did not disclose the financial details of the agreement.

The details: The MoU will see the partners undertake techno-economic evaluation studies to convert heavy oil fuel used to power the three GE Vernova 6B gas turbines running the plant with green hydrogen. The clean energy used to generate the H2 will be sourced from Nareva’s Laâyoune wind farm in the disputed Western Sahara. Nearly 30 GE Vernova 6B gas turbines are already compatible with hydrogen and have already been tested over the last twenty years, GE said.

#2- Norway’s USD 1.5 tn wealth fund boosts holdings in EV giants Tesla + BYD: Norway’s USD 1.5 tn sovereign wealth fund Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) has increased investments in major EV players Tesla and BYD, Bloomberg reports. NBIM increased its stake in Tesla from 0.87% to 0.98%, reaching USD 7.7 bn and making it the fund’s 11th biggest holding. The fund also increased its stakes in BYD from 0.38% to 0.57%.

REMEMBER- EV stocks are at record lows: EV makers including Tesla, Rivian, Xpeng, Nio, Leapmotor, Fisker, and VinFast all either missed their annual production targets or experienced record low slumps in stock. Earlier this month, Tesla — dethroned as top EV maker for 4Q 2023 sales by China’s BYD — saw its shares plummet to their lowest levels since 9 November, with its year-to-date loss of market capitalization reaching USD 116 bn.

#3- Italian oil giant Eni is under fire from environmentalist group Transport &Environment for using a palm oil by-product in its biofuel production, Reuters reports. The group accused Eni of failing to follow through on commitments made to shareholders in 2020 to eliminate the use of palm oil in its refineries by 2023. The company had announced that it met its palm oil-free goal ahead of schedule in 2022.

Caught in the act: Transport & Environment outlined evidence in its new report of Eni’s refineries receiving shipments in 2023 of palm oil fatty acid distillate (PFAD), a by-product of crude palm oil production. Crude palm oil and its derivatives lead to increased “risks of deforestation in producing countries through direct land conversion, but also indirect effects,” the report states.

Eni refuses to back down: The oil company responded that it has been palm oil-free since late 2022 and that its use of PFAD is permissible under EU and Italian regulations, the newswire writes. Eni also said that PFAD is a by-product of the palm oil refining process and should not be equated with the use of palm oil.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The UAE will host the Management and Sustainability of Water Resources Conference from Monday, 26 February to Wednesday 28 February in Dubai. Water availability in arid and semiarid regions, global water issues, and future water and environmental challenges are all on the agenda.

Saudi Arabia will host the International Conference on Sand and Dust Storms in theArabian Peninsula from Monday, 4 March to Wednesday, 6 March in Riyadh. The conference will address regional challenges caused by sand and dust storms and discuss monitoring systems, mitigation strategies, economic and infrastructural impacts, and more.

Egypt will host the Egypt Energy Show from Monday, 19 February to Wednesday, 21 February in Cairo. The event will gather 35k energy industry professionals and host over 80 conferences on energy transition and sustainable production.

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