Good morning, friends. It’s a reasonably paced news morning as we all take a collective deep breath before COP28 kicks off tomorrow — and sets off what we expect will be a gargantuan influx of news as leaders flock to Dubai.

THE BIG STORY here at home is a whole lot of investments we agreed to with Pakistan as their prime minister was in town to meet President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. We have chapter and verse in the news well, below.

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COP28 kicks off tomorrow, with thousands of global leaders in climate, policy, and business touching down in Dubai for 13 days of intense negotiations to save our planet from climate catastrophe. Check out the full agenda for the summit, which runs from 30 November to 12 December.

COP28 will be divided into Blue and Green zones with the former reserved for heads of states, government delegations, and UN bodies. The green zone — which will be open to the public — will serve as a central hub where developers, industry leaders, NGOs, and climate activists come together to explore pathways to accelerate the transition to clean energy. The zone will host over 300 talks tackling the climate crisis and showcase climate-focused interactive exhibits.

The loss and damage fund and who’s going to pay for it is already causing a ruckus: Former world leaders and leading economists have signed a joint letter calling on oil-producing states — including the UAE and Gulf neighbors — to pay a USD 25 bn levy to fund the loss and damage fund, the Guardian reports. Little progress has been made on the landmark loss and damage fund over the past year after delegates from some 200 nations signed off on the pact at the close of COP27.

OPEC and the IAE are trading barbs as COP kicks off: OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais accused the International Energy Agency (IEA) of smearing the oil and gas industry in a recent note that said that the industry was facing a “moment of truth” on the worsening climate crisis. “This presents an extremely narrow framing of challenges before us, and perhaps expediently plays down such issues as energy security, energy access and energy affordability,” he said.

AHEAD OF COP- Emirates Nature-WWF and Al-Futtaim IKEA launch “a day in the life of climate change,” an exhibition shedding light on the environmental impact of consumers' daily choices. The interactive experience lets visitors track their water consumption, receive tips on making more sustainable choices, and discover the UAE’s own ecosystem from a special mangrove viewing platform. The exhibition will run at the IKEA store in Dubai’s Festival Plaza, Jebel Ali, until 30 December. Visitors can donate to Emirates Nature-WWF local conservation efforts by scanning on-location QR codes.

ALSO HAPPENING TOMORROW-

It’s OPEC+ o’clock: OPEC+ member states are meeting tomorrow to discuss how the cartel of oil-producing nations will respond to falling oil prices, decide on next year’s production targets, and make a decision on whether to prolong production cuts. The meeting was initially scheduled from Sunday, but was pushed back after alliance members filed to reach a consensus on the output quotas for African members.

Is another delay in the cards? Reuters picked up chatter from OPEC+ sources that the once-delayed meeting may be delayed again as African member states seem adamant on their refusal to cut production quotas for 2024. Bloomberg also thinks talks are at an impasse this morning.

Brevan Howard gives Abu Dhabi props for “incredible advantage” as a global financial center: Abu Dhabi has the potential to be a global financial hub thanks to preferable regulatory and tax frameworks, Brevan Howard Asset Management co-founder Alan Howard said, according to Bloomberg. Brevan Howard expanded in the UAE earlier this year with an office in Abu Dhabi, relocating many of its “senior people because that’s the way to help the financial center grow by getting that human capital here,” the business information service quotes Howard as saying.

Howard’s statements come as Abu Dhabi Finance Week is on its final two days, bringing together global financial leaders for discussions on the global economic landscape.

WATCH THIS SPACE- We’re going to be seeing a new pricing mechanism soon to spur more private sector investments in EV infrastructure charging stations, Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei said, according to The National. Al Mazrouei did not provide further details about what the pricing mechanism could entail. The pricing mechanism will be introduced by early next year at the latest.

Binance’s Zhao will not be returning to the UAE anytime soon:Binance founder Changpeng Zhao can’t leave the US until the court decides whether he should stay in the country until his sentencing hearing in February or be allowed to return to his home in the UAE, according to a federal judge’s ruling (pdf) on Monday. The former CEO of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange last week stepped down and pleaded guilty to breaching US anti-money laundering laws. Zhao ws ordered to remain in the US while his trial plays out. He has agreed to pay a USD 50 mn fine and may face several years in prison.

The charges: Binance is facing charges of failing to report over 100k suspicious transactions with organizations including Hamas, Al Qaeda, and ISIS. The crypto platform also failed to report transactions with websites selling child abuse content and was one of the biggest recipients of spoils from hackers using ransomware.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Charlie Munger, right-hand man of Warren Buffett, dies aged 99: Bn’aire and market sage Charles Munger, who was second-in-command to business magnate Warren Buffett for almost 60 years, has died aged 99. Under their management of Berkshire Hathaway, the previously-failing textile company averaged an annual gain of 20% between 1965 and 2022 — roughly twice the pace of the S&P 500 Index — to become the multi-bn USD conglomerate that it is today.

The story has plenty of ink in the int’l business press this morning: (Reuters | AssociatedPress | Wall Street Journal | CNBC | Bloomberg | Financial Times)

Check out Munger’s final interview, recorded with CNBC’s Becky Quick just a couple of weeks ago.

THE LATEST ON GAZA-

Another batch of Palestinian and Israeli prisoners have been released as the truce enters the first of two extra days.

Another 93 Palestinian children arrived in the UAE for urgent medical treatmenton Monday from Egypt’s Al Arish International Airport in Egypt. This is the third group of injured Palestinian children and cancer patients to arrive in the UAE for treatment in national hospitals, with the first group arriving on 18 November.

UAE hospitals will treat 1k injured children and 1k cancer patients from Gaza as part of an initiative issued by President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to support vulnerable Palestinians in Gaza amid Israel’s continuing offense. Al Nahyan allocated a USD 20 mn aid package for Palestinian civilians, along with a field hospital as part of the Gallant Knight 3 operation ordered earlier this month.

AND- Joe Biden’s administration seems more divided than ever over his full-throated support for Israel’s war in Gaza, with the New York Times that “supporters” and “even some staff members” in the White House feel “ deep anger over his solidarity with Israel.” The Financial Times, meanwhile, reports that the CIA’s associate deputy director for analysis — one of the agency’s top officials on the “think-and-make-sense-of-it” side of the house — posted pro-Palestinian images on her Facebook page.

PSA- Umm Al Qaiwain residents will get 50% off traffic fines from 1 December until 7 January 2024 to celebrate UAE Union Day, WAM reports. However, some severe traffic violations are excluded from the markdown, including reckless driving, making unauthorized alterations to vehicles, and damaging public or private property.

Dubai among world’s 10 “magnetic” cities: Dubai was ranked eighth in the 2023 Global Power City Index (GPCI) (pdf), a benchmark league table published by the Mori Memorial Foundation’s Institute for Urban Strategies in Japan. This is the first time a Middle Eastern city has cracked into the GPCI’s top 10.

Highest performers: London tops the list, followed by New York, Tokyo, Paris, and Singapore.

What’s the GPCI? The GPCI, which has been published annually since 2008, is an index for assessing the performance and competitiveness of major cities around the world. It ranks cities in terms of how “magnetic” they are — based on how attractive they are to people, capital, and businesses. That index is rated based on 70 sub-indicators that fall under six criteria: Economy, research and development, cultural interaction, livability, environment, and accessibility.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Fortune Global Forum is bringing the world’s biggest multinational companies to engage in discussion and address global issues. The event continues today and tomorrow in Abu Dhabi.

The World Green Economy Summit, focusing on investments in the global green economy, continues today and tomorrow at Dubai’s Madinat Jumeirah Conference Center.

Sole DXB is coming back to Dubai from 8-10 December. The culture festival will bring rap artists from all over the world to the Dubai Design District stage.

The Iran-UAE Joint Economic Cooperation Commission meeting will be held in the coming weeks in a bid to develop bilateral cooperation, deepen commercial ties, and boost trade. The location has yet to be announced.

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