Good morning, nice people. We have a compact read for you this morning with some interesting developments on the EV battery tech front, but first…

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THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- There is no single story driving the headlines, butChinese automaker BYD is in talks with Brazilian mining firm Sigma Lithium over a potential lithium offtake agreement in a bid to fuel its EV production ambitions. BYD’s Brazil Division Chair Alexandre Baldy met Sigma CEO Ana Cabral Gardner in Sao Paulo last month and, aside from the supply pact, also discussed the possibility of hammering out an acquisition or joint venture agreement to secure the minerals it needs. BYD – which says its 3 mn unit EV sales target will be within reach by 2025 — saw a significant surge in 4Q 2023 sales, allowing it to boot EV giant Tesla from the top spot on industry leaderboards for the first time. BYD sold a record 526k vehicles in 4Q alone, with sales rising 70% in December. The story grabbed headlines in The Financial Timesand Reuters.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1-Gulf and international investors have submitted license requests to develop USD 6 bn worth of renewables projects in Egypt, CEO of the General Authority for Investment and FreeZones Hossam Heba told Asharq Business. The country is also aiming to double golden license issuances from 25 in 2023 to more than 50 this year. The investors include a Gulf-European consortium, a Chinese consortium, and an Indian one with each of the projects valued at USD 2 bn. The licences aim to incentivize investors in the tourism and environmental sectors, which also benefit from green energy incentives. The country is also reviewing corporate laws to support its investment goals as it aims to boost its FX reserves to USD 300 bn in six years.

Egypt is spending bns in renewables investments by 2025: Egypt's private sector is currently developing USD 4.4 bn of renewable energy projects, which will bring the country's renewable energy capacity to 10 GW by the end of 2025, Asharq Business wrote, citing comments made by Egypt's Electricity minister Mohamed Shaker back in October.

REMEMBER- Egypt has been rolling out some green incentives lately: The state-owned Egyptian Electricity Holding Company issued regulations last month on decentralized solar energy usage in a bid to accelerate the switch to green energy. The Egyptian government says it has identified seven major strategic industries including the solar energy, green hydrogen, and EV sectors as potential beneficiaries of the state’s planned tax exemptions announced in late August.

#2-Iraq aims to sign 3.7 GW in renewables contracts this year: Iraq is planning to ink agreements to establish 3.7 GW of renewable energy by year end, Iraq's Electricity Minister Ziad Ali told Asharq Business. The country has already signed three agreements to generate 2.4 GW of renewable energy, 500 MW of which should be operational by summer, Ali said, adding that the country is also tapping Saudi's Acwa Power for a 1 GW project in Najaf city, and UAE's Masdar for another 1 GW project in its western regions.

Iraq's renewable portfolio is rising: Iraq's government granted land to French giant TotalEnergies last November to establish a 1 GW solar plant and PowerChina to establish a 750 MW solar plant. It has also started talks with Acwa Power and Masdar, which is planning to establish at least four solar energy plants in Iraq, for similar projects. The country also said it is allocating IQD 90 bn (c. USD 68.3 mn) to install solar panel systems on 500 government buildings starting early 2024.

WORTH READING-

US giant green investor criticizes Biden's IRA for complexity and delays: UK asset management firm and world’s biggest green investment manager Impax Asset Management argues Biden's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has many hurdles that slow down the energy transition, Bloomberg writes, citing an interview with Impax senior economic adviser Charlie Donovan. The IRA's tax credits for renewable energy projects are too complex and depend on “middle men” such as bankers and consultants, who end up making “a lot of money” from the system while leaving less money for green projects, Donavan said. The legislation implemented under the IRA is also not “replicable or scalable,” and “hasn’t been able to salvage asset valuations,” the senior advisor told Bloomberg.

And the impact is being felt across the industry: Donovan also highlighted that government policies including market design, legislative rule-making, and infrastructure development are seeing slow progress to support the clean energy expansion. Together with the higher interest rates and supply-chain issues, the slow roll out of IRA policies has affected the valuations of capital-intensive renewables sectors causing green investors huge losses, the business wire said. Impax, which oversees about EUR 40 bn in assets, saw its shares fall 24% last year after slumping 51% in 2022.

The IRA can influence the global green economy: As major markets try to dominate the energy transition,a race to subsidize renewables among the US, EU, and China — the three largest economic blocs — can help make new technologies cheaper and more widely available. The big three blocs can also adjust their green subsidy and trade policies to make the market more fair, especially for the Global South.

DANGER ZONE-

#1- The global health system needs USD 1 tn in climate funding to be ready to tackle the impact of climate change, the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Head of Healthcare Shyam Bishen told CNBC. He stated that the current USD 1 bn investment target is a “drop in the ocean,” and insufficient to address the growing challenges. WEF is looking to invest in healthcare facilities in African and Southeast Asia to better handle any future health crisis.

#2- Disappearance of Iran’s Lake Urmia an ‘ecological disaster’: The drying up of Iran’s Lake Urmia — once MENA’s second largest lake spanning 5.2k km² — on the back of climate change and agricultural expansion is an “ecological disaster,” Iran International quotes water management researcher Aida Tavakoli as saying. Some 6 mn people live in the Urmia Lake Basin, and Iran’s water security woes are expected to take a USD 25 bn toll, or up to 5.5% of its GDP. Severe flooding that battered the country in the fall of 2019 had increased the depth of the dwindling waterbody by 62 cm y-o-y, raising hopes for its revival, but overly ambitious agricultural reforms saw the government divert half of Urmia’s inflow toward irrigation projects, Tavakoli explains. Iran declared the lake dead last year, when water levels reached 4% of the lake’s original volume.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The UAE will host the Management and Sustainability of Water Resources Conference from Monday, 26 February to Wednesday 28 February in Dubai. Water availability in arid and semiarid regions, global water issues, and future water and environmental challenges are all on the agenda.

Saudi Arabia will host the International Conference on Sand and Dust Storms in the Arabian Peninsula from Monday, 4 March to Wednesday, 6 March in Riyadh. The conference will address regional challenges caused by sand and dust storms and discuss monitoring systems, mitigation strategies, economic and infrastructural impacts, and more.

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