Good morning, friends, and welcome to day two of COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh. The UN climate change summit is not the big story globally this morning — it’s largely been edged off the front pages by the US midterm elections (voters head to the polls tomorrow), the prospect of layoffs at Facebook parent company Meta, and the ongoing drama at Twitter, as we note below.

We expect COP to get more traction in the global business press later today when the world leaders’ summit kicks off. In the meantime, we have a rundown in the news well (below) of yesterday’s events and will continue wall-to-wall coverage in Enterprise Climate and this afternoon’s EnterprisePM.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi will inaugurate the two-week conference around noon today alongside UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Executive Secretary Simon Stiell. The session is expected to start soon after 12pm CLT and be attended by heads of state and government from across the globe, according to the agenda (pdf).

World leaders are set to line up at the microphone this afternoon: COP27 President Sameh Shoukry will open the first high-level session at 14:30, which will see heads of state give statements until 18.30. Among those speaking today— according to the list of speakers (pdf):

• Arab leaders including UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid, and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune;
• Several European leaders, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Dutch PM Mark Rutte;
• UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak;
• Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who is on his first visit to Egypt in four years;
• Isaac Herzog, president of Israel.

Also today: Saudi Arabia’s Middle East Green Initiative gets underway in Sharm.

Are you at COP? You can now book one of 150 EVs to get around the conference, the Transport Ministry said yesterday. The EVs, supplied by the summit’s exclusive mobility principal partner General Motors and Al Mansour Automotive Group, can be booked through the COP27 Edrive app (App Store | Google Play).

More COP links and downloads:

• Detailed schedule: Download as a pdf here or check out the website here.
• COP27 app for attendees: App Store and the Google Play Store.

A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT FROM ENTERPRISE-

We’re delighted to let you all know that the Enterprise Climate X Forum, our first industry-specific conference is taking place on Tuesday, 6 December. It’s a C-suite event for CEOs and top execs, investors, bankers and development finance folks.

You’re going to love the venue when we unveil it next week.

DO YOU WANT TO ATTEND? The first wave of invites is going out today. If you’re a C-suite exec, business owner, climate professional, DFI staff, investor or banker, please email us at climatexrsvp@enterprisemea.com to signal your interest, letting us know your name, title and where you work.

The Enterprise Climate X Forum takes place a bit after COP27 for two simple reasons:

• To give us all time to catch our collective breath before we ask: Now what?
• And to serve as a bridge to COP28, keeping the industry in the spotlight for the 11 months before the world heads to the UAE.

Make no mistake: Climate will be the world’s largest and most important industry for decades to come — and is the defining challenge of our generation. It cuts across every sector, from banking and finance to infrastructure, urban planning, real estate, FMCG and beyond. Enterprise Climate and the Enterprise Climate X Forum are the regional hub for news, views, discussion and debate about how we build this industry.

In panels, live interviews and networking sessions, the Enterprise Climate X Forum will give insiders and newcomers alike the chance to talk about how to build a climate-centered business — and how to make sure your business continues to have access to the funds it needs to grow. Expect it to be heavy on lessons learned in Egypt and other global growth markets — and lots of success stories.

Some of the biggest names in business and finance are on board — are you? The Enterprise Climate X Forum is taking place with the generous support of our friends, including:

• Banking partners: HSBC | Mashreq | Attijariwafa Bank
• Telecom partner: Etisalat by e&
• Event partners: Hassan Allam Utilities | Infinity

Want to reach our audience? Ping a note to Moustafa Taalab, our head of commercial, here.

The UAE understands the value of focus in promoting exports and FDI — we need to do the same. UAE energy giant Adnoc has inked agreements worth AED 35 bn with companies including Siemens and Halliburton to localize the manufacturing of energy-related products, Enterprise Climate reports this morning. The agreements fall under the Make it in the Emirates initiative focusing on 11 different sectors to develop national industry. Anyone else see echoes of the Make In India strategy and its focus on 15 industries as the country set up to become a magnet for FDI and a global exports hub? If only there were a recipe that policymakers in Egypt could follow if we wanted to do the same…

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

COP27 is nowhere on the front pages of the western press this morning: Yesterday’s breakthrough to discuss loss and damage at the summit and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ speech is barely on the radar of the international media, with Bloomberg and CNBC the lone outlets to give the negotiations prominence on their front pages.

Of greater importance this morning:

• The US midterms: US media is focusing on the final days of campaigning before US voters head to the polls to elect a new House of Representatives and Senate. (Associated Press | Reuters | NYT | Washington Post)
• Elon Musk ???? (AP | Reuters | Wall Street Journal)

SIGN OF THE TIMES- #1- Mass layoffs at Meta: Facebook parent Meta is set to begin mass layoffs this week, with thousands of employees expected to face the ax, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, citing people familiar with the matter. The planned move would be the first large-scale redundancies at the company since its launch in 2004, and could be the largest-ever at a major tech firm. The layoffs are expected to be smaller in percentage points than the ongoing layoffs at Twitter, which will slash headcount by as many as half of its workforce.

This comes during a tough year for the company that has seen its share price dive almost 75% amid unrest among investors about its spend on the metaverse and concerns about ad revenues.

SIGN OF THE TIMES #2- Money is increasingly hard to come by on Wall Street (yes, really): The rate of stock sales, bond offerings and mergers in the US hasn’t been this slow in more than a decade amid tightening financial conditions, according to the WSJ.

HAPPENING TODAY-

The Techne Summit continues at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, bringing together entrepreneurs and investors from various sectors in the Mediterranean region. The global multi-industry gathering runs until tomorrow as a hybrid event.

New int’l wheat tender: Grain suppliers have until today to respond to an international wheat tender from GASC. It’s unclear how many tons the state grains buyer is seeking. Shipping is set for 15-30 December and/or 1-15 January.

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