An auspicious start. After months of negotiation, nearly 200 nations agreed to establish a 'loss and damage fund' to aid poorer countries affected by climate change.

• The World Bank will temporarily host the fund, which will be replenished every four years and begin supporting projects next year.

• Wealthy nations like the UAE, EU, and Germany have contributed about $100M each.

• There's surprise in Dubai over the fund’s rapid establishment, especially compared to the four-year negotiation of the Paris Agreement.

So long methane? Fifty oil companies (representing nearly 50% of global oil production) pledged to lower their methane emissions to near-zero.

• The action taken by oil giants, including Exxon Mobil and Saudi Aramco, was met with criticism from over 300 NGOs, who described it as a "smokescreen."

• Nevertheless, if the pledge is fulfilled, it could reduce global warming by one-tenth of a degree.

Renewed hope. Over 110 countries have committed to tripling the world's renewable energy capacity by 2030. China and India aren’t on board yet.

• Additionally, 22 nations, including the US, Canada, Japan, and Britain, are aiming to triple their nuclear energy capacity by 2050.

Green finance. The biggest pledge on Monday came from the UAE's banking system, committing $272 billion in green finance by 2030.

• Abu Dhabi also teamed up with private sector partners including BlackRock and HSBC to launch a climate research and advisory hub to boost financing options in the region.

Our ideal Sunday?

Oh, I don’t know - something like sun, sand, and start-ups.

Which, as you can imagine, made our visit to COP28’s startup village over the weekend a real treat!

From pioneering innovative solutions to optimise perishable food value chains, to immersing students in the realities of climate change through VR education, the start-ups we encountered are addressing this global challenge from a variety of critical angles.

So, without further ado, let’s introduce you to the climate tech startups that caught FWDstart's attention at COP28!

💻 CarbonSifr: The company facilitates large-scale decarbonisation by helping companies in e-commerce, grocery delivery, and mobility sectors to integrate climate action into their products.

• Founder-check: Muhammed Yildirim, Onur Elgun, and Mustafa Bosca started CarbonSifr in 2023.

📊 Oscar SDG: The start-up offers a tailored, automated sustainable procurement tool for the MENA region, considering local culture, business practices, and sensitivities.

• Founder-check: Abed Shawar started Oscar in 2022.

🌍 44.01: An Oman-based start-up eliminating CO2 permanently by turning it into rock through natural mineralisation.

Check out our previous deep-dive into 44.01 here →

• Founder-check: Talal Hasan founded 44.01 in 2020.

🌱 Avani Eco Middle East: A company specialising in eco-friendly, compostable packaging made from renewable resources like cassava and sugarcane, targeting sustainable solutions to plastic pollution.

⚙️ AgriTrack: A post-harvest automation platform that leverages technology and predictive microbiology to track quality from farm to fork.

• Founder-check: AgriTrack was founded by Vlasis Tsezos in 2020.

🌬️ Ohmium: A company designing and commissioning green hydrogen electrolysers for industry, power, and transportation decarbonisation.

• Founder-check: Ohmium was founded by Arne Ballantine and Kirsten Burpee in 2019.

♻️ The Surpluss: A B2B platform enabling businesses to share surplus resources i.e. waste or by-products, enhancing sustainability and competitiveness.

• Founder-check: Rana Hajirasouli started The Surpluss in 2021. 

🌊 Hydro Wind Energy: A UAE-based climate tech developing innovative renewable energy solutions to provide low-cost clean electricity, grid scale energy storage, and seawater desalination.

Check out our previous deep-dive into Hydro Wind Energy here →

• Founder-check: Founded by Lee King, Hayk Vasilyan, Maryam A Hassani and Aboozy Ghaly in 2018.

🤖 Infinite 8: A deeptech start-up specialising in AI, metaverse, web3, blockchain gaming, and AR/VR/MR products, serving a diverse range of sectors, including climate change education, in the MENA region.

• Founder-check: Hamid Fathalian started Infinite 8 in 2016.

• Buzz. The Climate Summit embraces A.I., with reservations (NYTimes)

• Reality check? Bill Gates Says Chances of Meeting 2C Warming Goal Fading Fast (Bloomberg)

• Making the case. IMF chief makes the case for carbon pricing as ‘writing on the wall’ for oil and gas (CNBC)

• Health risk. COP28 focus on health draws $777 million to fight tropical disease (Reuters)

• Dairy, dairy me. There’s less meat at this year’s climate talks. But there’s plenty of bull (Vox)

• Bank on it. UAE COP28 guest list led by bankers, lobbyists — and housekeeping (FT)

👋 Message from the team

Thanks for reading! Let us know if you enjoyed the latest instalment in our climate tech series?

Next Tuesday, we’ll be signing off with a return to all things agritech, as we review the inaugural World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit taking place in Dubai at the moment.

But, between now and then, we’ll see you all again on Friday for our weekly MENA tech and start-up round-up!

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