Greenify #89: COP28, First Take
December 2, 2023
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📌 Fact of the week
India is set to triple underground coal mining by 2028 according to officials from India’s coal ministry
Hottest news of the week…
Regulation 🗃 – Loss and damage fund
What happened: The world’s eyes are pointed at Dubai for COP28, which kicked off on Thursday and will take centre stage until December 12th. Last week, we spoke about the famous “loss and damage fund” by which rich countries should donate money to developing countries in order to allow them to cope and pay for climate related disasters. Well, on the conference’s first day, Thursday, climate summit delegates have announced the adoption of such fund, with countries such as the US, Japan and the European Union having pledged different donation amounts. 💸
Zoom out: As we explained several times, the “loss and damage fund” was an initially failed experiment, as developed countries failed to meet their initial funding promises made to developing countries in 2009. Despite this positive announcement, some remains skeptical around the long-term sustainability of this fund, pointing to the absence of “a defined replenishment cycle” (i.e. how and who will the fund be filled again when needed).❓
Business 💰 – UAE is creating a huge “climate” fund!
What happened: COP 28 has started strong on the business side, with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) pledging $30 billion to a new climate-oriented fund called Alterra. The fund's credibility is reinforced by renowned partners such as Blackrock, Brookfield and TPG. Alterra will center on the energy transition, industrial decarbonization, and climate technology and will focus on fostering the flow of private capital toward climate projects in developing countries. Alterra's overall commitment is $250 billion by 2030. 📈
Zoom out: The announcement was made during the first days of COP28, hosted by the UAE itself in Dubai. Many saw the UAE's announcement as an attempt to smooth the skepticism around its presidency of COP 28 since the first day of the event. Although it is difficult to imagine a fund backed by the UAE that will not be investing in some fossil fuel initiatives, it must be said that the commitment is enormous and the problem they are trying to solve is one of the major ones. Let's hope for the best.🤞🏻
Innovation 💡 - Scaling green hydrogen production in Africa
What happened: Danish clean energy developer GreenGo Energy has applied for a project in Mauritania to build one of the world's largest green hydrogen production site. The so called "Project Moon" will combine solar, wind, and off-shore wind farms to generate enough green hydrogen to satisfy 1% of the global demand in 2050. There are still various uncertainties but the project should enter pilot stage by 2028 and be completed between 2033-2035.☀️
Zoom out: Mauritania is highlighted as an ideal location due to its abundant solar and wind resources, large flat land areas, coastal proximity for water and shipping, and operator-friendly fiscal policies. Moreover, the project aims to leverage Mauritania's surplus power (i.e. the fact that the new capacity generated is not needed to satisfy current energy needs) to develop a large-scale local desert farming industry, establish a new green industry, and generate more than 70 million tons of desalinated water annually. s🌏
Deep dives of the week…
Chart of the week - COP28 market participants
Despite a couple of years old, we think this chart shows clearly how important the COP conference has become in recent years, and how hopes of getting important climate actions over the line is dependent on the amount and the relevance of the different participants to the conference. 📊
Source: Carbon Brief
Deal of the week - Double deal for the EU-catalyst partnership
The EU-Catalyst partnership, a “fund” launched in 2021 at COP26 involving the European Commission, Breakthrough Energy (Bill Gate’s climate fund), and the European Investment Bank (EIB), announced its first two investments on Friday at COP 28.🥇
An investment in FlagshipONE, Europe's largest e-methanol production facility, targeting an annual production of 55,000 tonnes of green fuel for the shipping industry. The company is located in Sweden and is partially owned by wind-giant Ørsted. The partnership’s investment consists in Breakthrough Energy Catalyst acquiring 15% of the company, the EC giving grants, and the EIB committing to a quasi-equity investment.
An investment in Energy Dome, an Italian start-up building long-term storage solutions using CO2. The company has already demonstrated its technology could work on smaller prototypes and is now building the first large plant in Sardinia. The CO2 Battery project is set to receive up to EUR 35 million in grant commitment from Breakthrough Energy Catalyst and EUR 25 million in venture debt financing commitment from EIB.
👋 See you next Friday, for the best sum up of this coming week!
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