Environmental, social and governance (ESG) investments in Cop27 host Egypt are expected to double annually in the coming seven years, Ehab Shalaby, head of Cairo-based sustainability consultancy DCarbon, has said.
Egypt is hosting the UN Climate Summit from November 6 to November 18 in Sharm El Sheikh, with financing for both climate change mitigation and adaptation high on the agenda.
This time, Egypt is ready with a portfolio of projects that are clearly ready for being financed.
DCarbon chairman Ehab Shalaby
Investor appetite for sustainable finance that incorporates ESG principles has been mainly concentrated in advanced economies, but emerging markets reported a surge last year, according to the International Monetary Fund.
ESG investments now make up about 18 per cent of foreign financing for emerging markets, excluding China, quadruple the average for recent years, the fund said.
With Cop27 as an accelerator and decarbonisation opportunities in Egypt, particularly in the energy and real estate sectors, Mr Shalaby said the time is ripe to attract ESG investments.
“It will double because this time, Egypt is ready with a portfolio of projects that are clearly ready for being financed,” he told The National.
Preparing for Cop27
DCarbon, founded by Mr Shalaby in 2015, drives and manages sustainable transitions on corporate, government, regional and global levels.
It works with clients across 10 major sectors, including banking, financial, oil and gas, petrochemicals, construction, real estate, health care and information and communications technology.
The company’s main geographical focus is Egypt but it also has corporate customers in Bahrain and Kuwait. It plans to expand to the UAE and Saudi Arabia next year.
Mr Shalaby has been a researcher, lecturer and consultant in the field of the economics of sustainable development for more than 15 years.
His work includes the preparation of Egypt’s 2015 report on its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) for mitigating and adapting to climate change and the energy pillar for the country’s Sustainable Development Strategy 2030.
The DCarbon team includes specialists in sustainability and climate change from political, economic and technical backgrounds.
In preparation for Cop27, DCarbon has organised sessions with the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX) to train companies and institutions on how to deal with climate finance data and prepare sustainability reports.
It has also held workshops for Egypt’s youth and civil society organisations.
The consultancy will be hosting several side events at Cop27, including one on the Global Reporting Initiative, an independent international organisation that helps to unify standards for sustainability reporting.
Opportunities and challenges
Mr Shalaby believes Egypt and other developing countries in the Middle East and Africa have “very good opportunities to attract finance”, but mainly in climate change mitigation, to reduce carbon emissions.
“When it comes to developing countries, we are more focused on adaptation. But when it comes to developed countries, they are more focused on mitigation,” he said.
“They want to direct finance towards mitigation and not adaptation.”
Mr Shalaby identified six major sectors that are expected to lead development in the Middle East and Africa: energy and electricity, agriculture, logistics, information and communications technology, construction and property, and transport.
“These are the major six drivers that are going to drive socioeconomic development in the region, but unfortunately, these six sectors are the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, so we need six decarbonisation plans for these sectors,” he said.
The main challenges for decarbonisation include market know-how, policies and regulations, technology transfer and finance.
“As a region, we can work on two of them: the market know-how and the policies and regulations,” Mr Shalaby said.
“The developed countries will need to work on the other two challenges, which are technology transfer and finance.”
He cited positive regulatory developments in Egypt, such as decrees 107 and 108 issued by Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority last year.
The decrees require companies listed on the EGX and companies in the non-banking financial sector to comply with ESG reporting, in line with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).
Green hydrogen and property
Green hydrogen and property will be the two major sectors that will be highlighted at Cop27 and Cop28, which will be held in the UAE, as top opportunities for decarbonisation, Mr Shalaby said.
The European Green Deal reached in 2020 set a target of no net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing energy crisis in Europe have made the green energy transition in the continent even more pressing.
Hydrogen is projected to account for 12 per cent of global energy use and 10 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions reductions by 2050, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.
At the same time, Egypt aims to increase its renewable energy sources to 42 per cent by 2035, from about 11 per cent in 2019.
Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone has signed more than a dozen initial agreements with international companies this year for green hydrogen and ammonia production, and expects to finalise about $25bn worth of green energy deals at Cop27.
Green construction is “one of the largest investment opportunities of the next decade” as cities in emerging markets expand at a fast pace to keep up with high population growth and rapid urbanisation, said a 2019 report from the International Finance Corporation.
The IFC estimates that investment in green buildings in emerging market cities will reach $27.4 trillion by 2030.
Egypt is building 14 new urban cities, including its New Administrative Capital east of Cairo and New Alamein City on the Mediterranean coast.
While the business case for ESG investments is promising, there are many other aspects of climate finance that will be contentious at Cop27 — from unmet pledges for adaptation finance to loss and damage compensation.
Egypt is wearing “three hats” at Cop27, Mr Shalaby said — one as representative of the world, one as voice of the region “leading African negotiators and co-ordinating Arab negotiators” and one simply as Egypt.
“The success of Cop27 from my perspective is seeing some sort of implementation road maps that have been run through a consensus,” he said.
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 0
Stoke City 0
Man of the Match: Erik Pieters (Stoke)
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EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Guns N’ Roses’s last gig before Abu Dhabi was in Hong Kong on November 21. We were there – and here’s what they played, and in what order. You were warned.
- It’s So Easy
- Mr Brownstone
- Chinese Democracy
- Welcome to the Jungle
- Double Talkin’ Jive
- Better
- Estranged
- Live and Let Die (Wings cover)
- Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
- Rocket Queen
- You Could Be Mine
- Shadow of Your Love
- Attitude (Misfits cover)
- Civil War
- Coma
- Love Theme from The Godfather (movie cover)
- Sweet Child O’ Mine
- Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)
- Wish You Were Here (instrumental Pink Floyd cover)
- November Rain
- Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
- Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
- Nightrain
Encore:
- Patience
- Don’t Cry
- The Seeker (The Who cover)
- Paradise City
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women & the Food That Tells Their Stories
Laura Shapiro
Fourth Estate
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
'Champions'
Director: Manuel Calvo
Stars: Yassir Al Saggaf and Fatima Al Banawi
Rating: 2/5
Results
57kg quarter-finals
Zakaria Eljamari (UAE) beat Hamed Al Matari (YEM) by points 3-0.
60kg quarter-finals
Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) beat Hyan Aljmyah (SYR) RSC round 2.
63.5kg quarter-finals
Nouredine Samir (UAE) beat Shamlan A Othman (KUW) by points 3-0.
67kg quarter-finals
Mohammed Mardi (UAE) beat Ahmad Ondash (LBN) by points 2-1.
71kg quarter-finals
Ahmad Bahman (UAE) defeated Lalthasanga Lelhchhun (IND) by points 3-0.
Amine El Moatassime (UAE) beat Seyed Kaveh Safakhaneh (IRI) by points 3-0.
81kg quarter-finals
Ilyass Habibali (UAE) beat Ahmad Hilal (PLE) by points 3-0
The%20specs
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The Bloomberg Billionaire Index in full
1 Jeff Bezos $140 billion
2 Bill Gates $98.3 billion
3 Bernard Arnault $83.1 billion
4 Warren Buffett $83 billion
5 Amancio Ortega $67.9 billion
6 Mark Zuckerberg $67.3 billion
7 Larry Page $56.8 billion
8 Larry Ellison $56.1 billion
9 Sergey Brin $55.2 billion
10 Carlos Slim $55.2 billion
The specs: 2018 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy
Price, base / as tested Dh97,600
Engine 1,745cc Milwaukee-Eight v-twin engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 78hp @ 5,250rpm
Torque 145Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.0L / 100km (estimate)
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
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General%20Classification
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The years Ramadan fell in May
'Laal Kaptaan'
Director: Navdeep Singh
Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Manav Vij, Deepak Dobriyal, Zoya Hussain
Rating: 2/5
If you go
Flight connections to Ulaanbaatar are available through a variety of hubs, including Seoul and Beijing, with airlines including Mongolian Airlines and Korean Air. While some nationalities, such as Americans, don’t need a tourist visa for Mongolia, others, including UAE citizens, can obtain a visa on arrival, while others including UK citizens, need to obtain a visa in advance. Contact the Mongolian Embassy in the UAE for more information.
Nomadic Road offers expedition-style trips to Mongolia in January and August, and other destinations during most other months. Its nine-day August 2020 Mongolia trip will cost from $5,250 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, two nights’ hotel accommodation in Ulaanbaatar, vehicle rental, fuel, third party vehicle liability insurance, the services of a guide and support team, accommodation, food and entrance fees; nomadicroad.com
A fully guided three-day, two-night itinerary at Three Camel Lodge costs from $2,420 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, accommodation, meals and excursions including the Yol Valley and Flaming Cliffs. A return internal flight from Ulaanbaatar to Dalanzadgad costs $300 per person and the flight takes 90 minutes each way; threecamellodge.com
Company%20profile
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Company profile
Date started: January, 2014
Founders: Mike Dawson, Varuna Singh, and Benita Rowe
Based: Dubai
Sector: Education technology
Size: Five employees
Investment: $100,000 from the ExpoLive Innovation Grant programme in 2018 and an initial $30,000 pre-seed investment from the Turn8 Accelerator in 2014. Most of the projects are government funded.
Partners/incubators: Turn8 Accelerator; In5 Innovation Centre; Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme; Dubai Future Accelerators; FHI 360; VSO and Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3)
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
FA Cup fifth round draw
Sheffield Wednesday v Manchester City
Reading/Cardiff City v Sheffield United
Chelsea v Shrewsbury Town/Liverpool
West Bromwich Albion v Newcastle United/Oxford United
Leicester City v Coventry City/Birmingham City
Northampton Town/Derby County v Manchester United
Southampton/Tottenham Hotspur v Norwich City
Portsmouth v Arsenal
