And that’s a wrap on COP28: After handing over its presidency with a somber “reality check” (watch, runtime: 6:51), Egypt kicked off a productive run in COP28 in Dubai. With water resource management, renewables, and climate finance for developing countries set as its priorities, Egypt signed agreements and forged partnerships to firm up its commitment to financing investments in clean energy projects and make deeper pledges on slashing emissions.

Here’s a breakdown of Egypt’s activities throughout the summit as we all sit and wait to see what language on oil and gas gets included in the final agreement expected later today or tomorrow.

RENEWABLES-

Scatec puts its money where its mouth is:Norwegian renewables developer Scatec inked a USD 1.1bn agreement with the SCZone last week to provide green fuel for ships bunkering at the east Port Said Port. Scatec will use a 190 MW electrolyzer powered with 317 MW of wind energy and 140 MW of solar energy to produce the green fuel and aims to produce 100k tons of methanol annually by 2027.

Scatec will also help us get our first hybrid PV+storage plant: The Norwegian firm signed an agreement with the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company to establish a 1 GW solar and 200 MWh battery storage plant — the first of its kind in Egypt. The project will be funded by the African Development Bank.

Egypt ♥️ BESS: Egypt enrolled in the Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) Consortium last week, joining 10 other nations committed to securing 400 GW of renewable energy by 2030 to help solve energy poverty.

WATER-

We joined forces with the EU on sustainable water management: The EU Commission for Environment and Egypt’s Water Ministry inked a joint declaration earlier this week to boost cooperation on sustainable water resources management. The partnership will see the two parties exchange expertise on water management and explore technologies to develop adaptation strategies.

Morocco also got in on the action: Egypt and Morocco signed an MoU to collaborate on advancing water sustainability, according to a statement. The two countries will cooperate on harvesting flood and rain water, advancing technologies for processing agricultural wastewater, adapting to the climate impact on water resources, and establishing water facilities and desalination projects.

NUCLEAR-

Egypt + UAE team up on nuclear energy: The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) and Egypt’s Nuclear Power Plants Authority (NPPA) signed an MoU last week to set a framework for cooperating on advancing the use of nuclear energy.

Egypt’s nuclear ambitions are on a roll: Egypt joined the International Atomic Energy Agency’s convention on nuclear energy safety in September. Egypt has also been making strides since April of this year in the construction of its 4.8 GW nuclear power plant in Dabaa after the country’s nuclear regulator gave Russian state-run nuclear company Rosatom a construction permit for the plant’s third reactor.

WASTE MANAGEMENT-

Beeah takes charge of waste management at the administrative capital: The UAE’s Bee’ah signed an agreement with the Administrative Capital for Urban Development (ACUD) to develop waste management infrastructure in the country’s new administrative capital with the aim of diverting 80% of waste away from landfills.

BLUE ECONOMY-

Egypt to join Blue Med Partnership: Egypt inked a letter of intent last week to join the Blue Mediterranean Partnership (BMP) — a vehicle that aims to mobilize funds and technical assistance for the southern Mediterranean region’s blue economy. The BMP will kick off operations early 2024.

What is Blue Med? The initiative was launched jointly by Cyprus, Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, and Spain in 2014 with the support of the European Commission. Now endorsed by all of the EU, the initiative aims to drive cooperation across both sides of the Mediterranean, focusing on the blue economy — a sector that aims to preserve marine and freshwater environments while using them to push sustainable economic growth.

COP28 draft text skips out on a full fossil fuel phaseout: The highly anticipated draft of the COP28 Global Stocktake delivered a range of global targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, but it fell short of including the “phaseout” or “phase down” of fossil fuels. Rather than deliver the awaited goal to phase out of fossil fuels, the draft text stated that fossil fuel production and consumption is to be reduced by 2050 in line with “scientific advice,” avoiding any mention of the contentious “phaseout” language despite being called for by over 80 countries. (Financial Times | The Guardian | Reuters)

IT WAS A BIG WEEK FOR ELSEWEDY-

Elsewedy kept busy at COP28, with its subsidiaries signing several agreements on the sidelines of the climate summit last week, handing out land plots across industrial complexes and agreeing to boost renewables in Indonesia.

#1- Futurefert + Elsewedy:Futurefert, the fertilizer manufacturing arm of UAE-based SharkiaGroup, plans to set up a USD 50 mn fertilizer complex in Elsewedy’s Sokhna 360 industrial zone, targeting to produce 300k tons of fertilizers a year during the initial phase.

#2- Jushi + Elsewedy: Chinese fiberglass manufacturer Jushi will invest USD 8 mn to expand its factory in China’s TEDA trade zone after it was awarded a 60k-sqm plot by Elsewedy Industrial Development. Earlier this year, Jushi inaugurated a new USD 320 mn production line at its factory, pushing its production capacity to 350k tons a year.

#3- Indonesian gov’t x Elsewedy: The Indonesian government has inked an MoU with Elsewedy Electric to help link its renewable energy generators with the national electricity grid.

ALSO ON THE SIDELINES-

Majid Al Futtaim + Engazaat: Local independent power and water producer Engazaat has signed an agreement with UAE-based retail conglomerate Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) to install solar panels at four malls run by the latter, namely, Mall of Egypt, City Centre Maadi, and City Centre Alexandria in Egypt, as well as City Centre Beirut in Lebanon. Under the design, finance, build, own, and operate contract, Engazaat will supply MAF’s malls with more than 20 MW of solar power.

Your top green economy stories for the week:

  • One of the region’s largest wind projects gets a timeline:Infinity Power, Hassan Allam Utilities, and the UAE’s Masdar are set to start construction on their 10-GW wind farm in 1Q 2025.
  • New advisor for Gabal El Zeit and Zafarana wind farms: The Sovereign Fund of Egypt has appointed Belgium-headquartered engineering and consultancy firm Tractebel to act to advise it on the sale of stakes in the state-owned Gabal El Zeit and Zafarana wind farms.
  • State to increase footprint in green fuel sector: A group of state-owned companies are looking to set up a second plant for producing green fuel in the Suez Canal Economic Zone.
  • Recycling tires:The Environment Ministry wants to funnel EGP 50 mn into a private-sector project to recycle upwards of 300k car tires a year. (Al Mal)
  • Greening the construction sector: The Housing and Building National ResearchCenter will startissuing energy performance certificates (EPCs) under the Build Me project, which aims to reduce emissions in the MENA region’s construction sector. (Al Mal)
  • Saudi-Egyptian energy company Maryzad plans to launch a logistics center in the Suez Canal Economic Zone that serves solar energy projects in Egypt and neighboring countries. (Mubasher)
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