Good morning, nice people. We have a compact read this morning with solar, decarbonization and sustainable sukuk updates from every corner of the region.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY- Norwegian renewables developer Scatec has inked an agreement to build a 1 GW solar power plant to power EgyptAlum’s Nagaa Hammadi industrial complex.

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

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- There's not one single story driving the conversation,but some climate activism blips on the radar are pinging from the UK. Three environmental campaign groups have taken the UK government to court over the country’s revised climate action plan, branding the measures as “a complete pipedream.” The lawsuit — filed by Friends of the Earth (FoE), ClientEarth, and the Good Law Project — alleges approval of the country’s amended climate strategy is unlawful and risky because the country’s Energy Minister Grant Shapps at the time was not informed emissions slashing policies might not be delivered. The three groups previously sued the cabinet in 2022, with the UK’s High Court ruling Britain had breached legislation aimed at aligning the country’s policies with the targets of the Paris agreement. The story got ink in Reutersand The Guardian.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Egypt’s Environment Ministry has debuted its Blue Economy Roadmap aimed at boosting marine conservation efforts and promoting ecotourism, Ahram Online reports. Egypt’s strategy — which was prepared in collaboration with the Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the EU — sets out a plan for “natural resource management, pollution reduction, and ecosystem protection” in efforts to work towards UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), 13 (Climate Action), and 14 (Life Below Water). Given that ecotourism is key to marine conservation and biodiversity protection, the roadmap also sets out a strategy for improving infrastructure, investments, and jobs in the ecotourism sector.

REMEMBER- Egypt’s marine life is under threat: A recent UN report evaluating the MENA region’s progress across SDGs found that Egypt faces major challenges on SDG 14, reflecting a lack of initiatives and regulation for protecting its marine biodiversity and controlling overfishing. Major threats to the red sea’s coral reef and biodiversity include “mass tourism, overfishing, pollution, sedimentation, oil spills, coastal development, ocean acidification, seawater warming, tropical storms, disease outbreaks, vessel damage, marine debris, and invasive species.”

#2- Morocco has earmarked MAD 1 bn each to the provinces of Ifran and Sefrou to boost sustainable agriculture in the kingdom, MAP reports, citing the Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Mohamed Seddiki. This comes as part of Moroccos’ Generation Green 2020-2030 plan, which focuses on improving the kingdom’s food security and agriculture sector under a total budget of MAD 34 bn, MAD12 bn of which is financed by the government.

About Generation Green: The initiative was launched in 2020 with a focus on enhancing supply chain production, modernizing agriculture, and professional organization. It also targets meeting food requirements, boosting overall agricultural output, promoting agricultural exports, and escalating investment volumes. Sustainability is one of the main pillars of Generation Green, which sets a goal to establish more resilient and eco-efficient agriculture across the country through “doubling water efficiency, conserving agricultural soils and supporting farmers in the transition to renewable energies,” according to Morocco’s Agriculture and Fisheries Ministry.

#3- Slow EV adoption is pushing European automotive leaders to explore new collaborative strategies and resource pooling to navigate the competition, Bloomberg reports. Europe’s biggest carmakers — including Stellanis, Renault, and Volkswagen — are considering pooling development resources, sharing platforms, and merging businesses across borders as they struggle to compete with Tesla and Chinese rivals. This comes as sales of fully electric cars in Europe are expected to grow at the slowest rate since 2019, according to BloombergNEF, while stricter emissions rules will still come into effect in 2025.

Car makers are back to the drawing board in efforts to overcome sluggish EV growth: European automakers have been exploring options ranging from battery size reduction to forging partnerships and M&As in a bid to combat China’s dominance of EVs. Ford Motor is also bracing for a “colossal strategic threat” from low-cost Chinese electric vehicles inching closer to the US market.

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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.

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