{"id":74633,"date":"2022-11-03T01:57:45","date_gmt":"2022-11-03T01:57:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2022\/11\/03\/today-attention-turns-to-mena-as-cop27-kicks-off-on-sunday-egypt-pitches-ksa-on-usd-3-bn-of-renewables-projects\/"},"modified":"2022-11-03T01:57:45","modified_gmt":"2022-11-03T01:57:45","slug":"today-attention-turns-to-mena-as-cop27-kicks-off-on-sunday-egypt-pitches-ksa-on-usd-3-bn-of-renewables-projects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2022\/11\/03\/today-attention-turns-to-mena-as-cop27-kicks-off-on-sunday-egypt-pitches-ksa-on-usd-3-bn-of-renewables-projects\/","title":{"rendered":"TODAY: Attention turns to MENA as COP27 kicks off on Sunday + Egypt pitches KSA on USD 3 bn of renewables projects"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We have a stacked issue for you today with a <\/strong>roundup of what to expect when COP27 kicks off in Egypt on Sunday.<\/strong> Implementation and climate finance are at the top of the agenda \u2014 topics that are natural lead-ins to the stories that are driving the agenda this morning:<\/p>\n

DRIVING THE AGENDA this fine Thursday morning- <\/strong>Egypt\u2019s electricity minister is in KSA pitching investors on a raft of renewables projects just days after signing agreements for a 10 GW wind power plant. Meanwhile, Brazil is in talks with KSA on a \u201cgreen\u201d steel mega hub, and Oman is looking to decarbonize its waste management practices and expand on solar.<\/p>\n

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- British PM Rishi Sunak is<\/strong> attending COP27 after all:<\/strong> The UK\u2019s newly-appointed<\/a> prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has U-turned on his plan to skip<\/a> COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, announcing in a tweet<\/a> yesterday that he would attend the summit along with over 100 heads of state.<\/p>\n

The story is attracting coverage in the international press:<\/strong> Reuters<\/a> | Guardian<\/a> | Financial Times<\/a> | Bloomberg<\/a><\/p>\n

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THE COUNTDOWN TO COP (3 days to go)- <\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a> Now that COP27 is nearly upon us, all eyes are on MENA. <\/strong>Here are thoughts on what you can expect, whether you\u2019re on the ground in Sharm El Sheikh or keeping an eye on proceedings from the comfort of your office.<\/p>\n

BUT FIRST- Do you have news coming out of COP? A top exec who\u2019s like to have a chat? <\/strong>Send press releases, statements, communiques and interview requests our way on editorial@enterprise.press<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Host country Egypt has called this the \u201cCOP of implementation,\u201d looking to move<\/strong> away from negotiation \u2014 a <\/strong>focal point<\/a><\/strong> of COP26 \u2014 to delivery: <\/strong>The presidential vision statement<\/a> calls for \u201cfull, timely, inclusive, and at-scale action on the ground,\u201d and leading government voices<\/a> have emphasized that moving from<\/a> pledges to implementation is a priority.<\/p>\n

What does that mean? <\/strong>Emerging and frontier economies want rich countries to literally show them the money: to help finance investment, particularly when it comes to climate-related businesses \u2014 and really step things up when it comes to financial compensation for loss and damage from the impact of climate change.<\/p>\n

Also: Funding for development. <\/strong>Egypt climate Czar Mahmoud Mohieldin will also remind attendees that wealthy countries need to step up funding for economic development as part of that process (here<\/a> and here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Why? <\/strong>Wealthy nations are the ones who broke our planet as they developed their economies. Having achieved a nice standard of living and social development, they\u2019re now effectively pulling up the ladder and saying to frontier and emerging markets, \u201cYou people down there need to cut your carbon emissions, because we really don\u2019t want to cook ourselves off the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n

So what can we expect from the conference?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Announcements on climate-friendly projects\u2026 <\/strong>Egypt will unveil<\/a> its national green hydrogen strategy at COP27. We could also see some of its green hydrogen MoUs<\/a> turn to concrete agreements<\/a> \u2014 keep an eye out for the Scatec \/ Fertiglobe \/ Orascom Construction<\/a> and ReNew Power<\/a> projects in particular. We may also hear more details about Oman\u2019s ambitious strategy<\/a> to increase green hydrogen investments to USD 140 bn by 2050. Egypt\u2019s Suez Canal Authority (SCA) will announce<\/a> incentives for hydrogen-powered ships \u2014 including reduced tariffs to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels. Saudi Arabia is being very aggressive on green investment of late, and we expect the good people at Hassan Allam, Acwa Power and others to have plenty to say.<\/p>\n

\u2026And funding: <\/strong>Egypt will announce<\/a> several green finance allocations in partnership with Japan, China, the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) \u2014 targeting sustainable development and green transport projects. The country\u2019s International Cooperation Ministry is also set to provide USD 1 bn-worth of financing<\/a> agreements with companies investing in the sustainability of the transportation, housing, electricity, finance, and irrigation sectors as part of the Egypt Partnership for Climate Transition (E-Pact) initiative. Some 50 climate and development projects \u2014 shortlisted by a joint UN-Egypt climate finance roadshow<\/a> \u2014 will be showcased<\/a> at COP27, with a view to securing financing. The World Bank plans to launch<\/a> the Scaling Climate Action by Lowering Emissions (Scale) fund \u2014 which will mobilize funding to provide grants to developing countries for green projects.<\/p>\n

Climate finance provision will be front and center \u2014 particularly around the thorny issue<\/strong> of loss and damage: <\/strong>Egypt will champion<\/a> climate financing for Africa and emerging economies, with an emphasis on loss and damage \u2014 spearheading talks about what exactly constitutes adequate climate financing for African nations. It will be supported in this by prominent voices \u2014 including UN Climate Champion Mahmoud Mohieldin<\/a> \u2014 who has repeatedly called for talks about economic compensation.<\/p>\n

As will DFIs\u2019 \u201ckey\u201d role in providing funding for the private sector<\/strong> and helping structure projects properly so they can more easily access this funding, which EBRD Egypt head Khalid Hamza told EnterpriseAM<\/a> and the International Finance Corporation\u2019s Emmanuel Nyirinkindi recently told Enterprise Climate<\/a>.<\/p>\n

NDC revision and country climate strategies will be under the spotlight: <\/strong>Egypt will urge<\/a> developed countries to honor their climate pledges \u2014 including updated national plans with more ambitious targets, agreed upon at COP26 \u2014 despite recent economic turbulence and concerns over energy security. So far, only 23 out of 193<\/a> countries have submitted their plans to the UN. Revision of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) will be a top COP27 priority, Foreign Minister and COP27 President Designate Sameh Shoukry has said (watch, runtime: 6:00<\/a>). And Egypt<\/a>will announce<\/a> a new initiative to counter climate change and revision of its national carbon emission reduction plan.<\/p>\n

Keep an eye out for more news about NWFE:<\/strong> Egypt is unveiling<\/a> a new program \u2014 the Nexus of Water, Food and Energy (NWFE) \u2014 through which it will promote<\/a> its pipeline of low-carbon projects to investors. The country\u2019s International Cooperation Ministry announced yesterday that it\u2019s inking<\/a> multiple green financing agreements totaling USD 15 bn \u2014 including grants and low-interest loans \u2014 with Egyptian private sector firms to fund nine projects in the renewable energy, food security, irrigation, and desalination sectors, under NWFE. A recently-secured USD 2 bn loan<\/a> from the International Fund for Agricultural Development to boost investment in food, energy, and water is also being disbursed through NWFE.<\/p>\n

There are going to be lots and lots and lots of corporate events\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

KEY COP DATES-<\/strong><\/p>\n

Among the days and themes that we think are most relevant to MENA business leaders:<\/p>\n