Good morning, wonderful people, and happy THURSDAY. We have a packed issue for you as September draws to a close.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY in our corner of the world- It’s still KSA’s maiden green bond issuance. We already know that investors are getting calls from the investment bankers — what might appetite look like? We talked to analysts to find out.

ALSO- The UAE and Oman are discussing the investment of AED 30 bn (USD 8.1 bn) in renewable energy and infrastructure projects in Oman. Abu Dhabi wealth fund ADQ and the Oman Investment Authority identified “preliminary” targets for investment in sectors that include hydrogen, solar, wind power and others.

^^We have chapter and verse on these stories and more in the news well below.

SMART POLICY- The Dubai Sustainable Finance Working Group launched a self assessment tool allowing companies to track their ESG progress, the Dubai International Financial Center said in a statement on Tuesday.

THE GREAT DEBATE-

The UAE is not letting go of fossil fuels, it reminds us once more: “As long as the world needs oil and gas, we’re going to give it to them,” UAE Climate Change and Environment Minister Mariam Al Mheiri told CNBC yesterday. The minister made the comments when asked about the UAE’s decision to sell (albeit small amounts of) LNG to Germany during German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit to the GCC earlier this week.

The UAE isn’t the only Gulf country to have recently defended its fossil fuel industry: Both Qatar and Saudi Arabia have mounted a defense of their continued reliance on oil and gas in recent days and cautioned against an aggressive transition into renewables. We reported yesterday on how Qatar’s Energy Minister Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi deemed the “cancellation” of hydrocarbons as “unrealistic” and harmful for the green transition. Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser made similar comments earlier this month.

The argument? Renewables, they say, are still not able to provide a stable source of energy capable of replacing fossil fuels across the world. Nasser last week pointed to the still-unfolding energy crisis and blamed a fall in new investment in oil and gas production. Fossil fuels will remain a part of the energy mix while the world builds out its renewables capacity, upgrades its infrastructure, and develops technology. “It’s really important that economic growth, energy security and climate action must be worked at together,” Al Mheiri told CNBC.

Feet in both camps: The three countries are some of the world’s biggest oil and gas producers — but they’re also investing heavily in the energy transition and updating production and emissions targets (though keeping to them is proving difficult for some).

Plot twist: Both Saudi and the UAE are trying to use renewables and efficiency measures to lower the carbon footprint of producing hydrocarbons, as we reported this week. Yesterday, Bloomberg suggested that the UAE may be using CO2 captured from blue ammonia production to extract fossil fuels. The business information service also quotes an “independent clean energy analyst” that argues Aramco and Sabic pushed the envelope by using carbon offsetting rather than actually capturing the CO2 produced through the making of blue ammonia.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION-

One of the most powerful storms to hit the United States in decades: Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida overnight, multiple media outlets report. The hurricane had caused a total blackout and left two dead in Cuba, before moving on to Florida, the BBC reported. Although it was downgraded to category three from “just-shy of category five” when it made landfall, Ian is proving to be “one of the strongest storms ever to strike Florida,” the New York Times reports. Some 1.8 mn people have no electricity right now and a storm surge of nearly 4 meters “submerged cars, knocked over houses and trapped residents near where the hurricane came ashore west of Fort Myers.”

Ian is leading the front pages in the United States and getting plenty of attention in Europe, too, where at dispatch it was also the top story. Reuters | The Guardian | NPR | Figaro.

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YOU’RE READING ENTERPRISE CLIMATE, the essential regional publication for senior execs who care about the world’s most important industry. Enterprise Climate covers everything from finance and tech to regulation, products and policy across the Middle East and North Africa. In a nod to the growing geographical ambitions of companies in our corner of the world, we also include an overview of the big trends and data points in nearby countries, including Africa and southern Europe.

Enterprise Climate is published at 4am CLT / 5am Riyadh / 6am UAE Monday through Thursday by Enterprise, the folks who bring you Enterprise Egypt, your essential 6am and 3pm read on business, finance, policy and economy in Egypt and emerging markets.

Subscribe to Enterprise Climate here or reach out to us on climate@enterprisemea.com with comments, suggestions and story tips.

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HAPPENING TODAY-

The American University in Cairo and UNICEF Egypt are jointly hosting a seminar entitled on “shifting behaviors to address climate change in Egypt” today at AUC’s New Cairo Campus. The seminar will look at how Egypt can use evidence-based solutions to address climate change and ensure financing and resources are effectively allocated. Attending the event: UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for Egypt Mahmoud Mohieldin, Egypt’s Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad and IMF executive director Jeremy Hopkins. You can register here.

Fitch Solutions is hosting a webinar on Saudi Arabia’s energy transformation today. You can register here.

It’s the second and final day of the World Green Economy Summit (WGES) in Dubai. The first day of the event saw speakers and officials addressing the MENA region’s lack of access to climate financing. Part of the problem was attributed to the need for nationally determined contributions (NDCs) in order to unlock financing.

WGES also saw the launch of the newly formed “Global Alliance on Green Economy,” WAM reports. The alliance is designed to bring together countries to support green economy transition projects and exchange knowledge on green project implementation.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Green Energy Africa conference will run next Wednesday-Thursday, 4-5 October in Cape Town, South Africa. The event aims to bring together executives, investors, utility firms, and government leaders to drive investment in Africa’s renewable and low carbon sector. You can register for the event here.

Further down the line, the International Exhibition of Renewable Energies, Clean Energies andSustainable Development will take place from 24-26 October in Oran, Algeria. The event will host a number of conferences focusing on energy efficiency and energy saving, startups’ role in the energy transition, and the bankability of renewable energy projects.

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