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RIYADH: Bahrain-based Gulf International Bank has seen its nine-month profit jump 30 percent owing to an interest income boost. 
GIB which is owned by the governments of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund being the main shareholder, saw its profits reach $51 million for the period ended Sept. 30, 2022, against $39 million in the same period a year earlier, according to a statement. 
The increase in profit was helped by a 24 percent rise in net income to $65.2 million compared to $53 million for the same period last year. 
The bank’s net interest income of $235.7 million was 31 percent higher than last year, on the back of balance sheet growth in addition to the stabilization of markets that led to higher yields. 
Its net fee and commission income of $76.2 million was 56 percent higher than the previous year, reflecting the success of the diversification initiative away from pure lending activities. 
For the third quarter of 2022, GIB’s profit dropped 45 percent to $12 million, from $21 million in the same quarter last year. 
The decrease in profit came despite a healthy increase in core revenue categories, mainly a result of unrealized mark-to-market losses on the bank’s trading portfolio of $7.8 million. 
The decrease of 65 percent in other income to $5.7 million that was caused by the lower recoveries on previously written off assets also weighed on the results. 
 
DUBAI: The aviation industry is committed to decarbonizing, but with air travel set to triple by 2050, alternative energies such as electric and hydrogen will not solve the challenge; airlines must replace old fleets, airports should improve air traffic management structures and industry must invest in sustainable aviation fuel.
However, there is a “huge amount of work” needed to drive down SAF prices, including more research and development, and technological development on feedstock. Also, SAF must be available to developing countries to make an impact beyond the largest aviation hubs. This is according to Robert Boyd, an expert in SAF and the regional lead of aircraft manufacturer Boeing’s global sustainability policy and partnerships.
Appearing on “Frankly Speaking,” the Arab News weekly current-affairs talkshow that dives deep into regional headlines and speaks with leading policy makers and business leaders, he said: “The good news is that there are several pillars of action that the aviation industry has at its disposal, and these are working to essentially execute the decarbonization challenge over the next 28 years.”
But given that “technology limitations do not allow for hydrogen or electric to power wide-body, long-haul aircraft, SAF is the key.”
With climate change taking center stage at the UN Climate Change Conference in Egypt, many people are wondering whether the aviation industry — currently responsible for 2.5 percent of global emissions — can really go green, or if real progress is still decades away.
“In a decarbonizing world, if all sectors are not doing it at the same pace, then the relative scale of emissions for aviation or shipping makes it hard to decarbonize,” he said. “So, it is absolutely critical to decarbonize. There is a clear plan to achieve net zero by 2050. And that can be done through various pillars.
“The obvious one is new aircraft. A new aircraft can be anywhere from 20 to 25 percent more fuel efficient than its predecessor.”
Boyd called them “significant numbers,” pointing out that something like 25 tons of carbon dioxide can be saved per day saved by using the best-in-class modern fleet. “That can be a couple of hundred thousand tons of CO2 over its lifetime. So, we need to ensure that we are using the most efficient modern fleet, which might get 15 to 25 percent CO2 dividend globally. It is not small.”
He cited operational efficiencies as another opportunity for improvement. “Aviation has been on this for several years or even decades. A lot of the easy operational improvements are already there. They’re embedded in the technology that we use today,” he said.
Improvements in air traffic management offer yet another opportunity, but these solutions have limitations, according to Boyd, will not fix the aviation emissions problem. “The major one is replacing the energy source with something sustainable. That’s where we put significant emphasis on sustainable aviation fuel as it is doing to do the heavy lifting on decarbonization till 2050.”
What about ideas of electric or hydrogen as a potential replacement for kerosene? “These are really exciting, and there has to be continued work on this, but they won’t, by themselves, solve the decarbonization challenge,” Boyd told “Frankly Speaking” host Katie Jensen.

“Today about three quarters of all of the international emissions are from wide-body long-haul travel, and technological limitations don’t allow for hydrogen or electric in that space just yet. Maybe it may be in due course, but today it’s not a viable solution. So, SAF is the key over the next 30 years.”
The problem with SAF is of course the price: More than double the price of regular jet fuel, plus it is in short supply. Figures from 2019 show that SAF accounted for just 0.1 percent of global fuel use for jets, while the 2025 target was to have 2 percent of global jet fuel come from SAF.
Under the circumstances, should governments step in and subsidize, or will travelers be forced to pay with higher airfares?
“We do talk in a very positive way about sustainable aviation fuel and the potential. But that realism around where we are at today is really important because it shows what degree of challenge lies ahead,” said Boyd. “What is going to be needed is exponential growth. We are on track for around somewhere between 4 and 6 billion liters of SAF by 2025. But it still leaves a huge mountain to climb in terms of scaling up.”
Having said that, Boyd acknowledged there are big barriers to scaling up faster. “Definitely cost. If SAF was at cost-cost parity today and it was available, every airline would use it. We need to benefit from the efficiencies of getting scaled. That is really just starting. There is a huge amount of work, sort of research and development and technology, pure technology work on feedstock, which can bring some of these prices down,” he said.
He cited the US as a good example where the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 “provides a huge incentive to develop green hydrogen and renewable fuels for (uses in) both ground and in air especially. There is a wave of supply coming along. And with that, I expect we will see price improvements.”
Boyd said he is optimistic about SAF supplies too. “There is expansion of existing facilities and new facilities are being developed. Some of these are starting to come online now, 2022,” he said. “There will be more in 2023 going right through to 2025 and beyond. We have visibility, with some respectable granularity, out to about 2027.”
There is talk about hydrogen-powered planes, but hydrogen requires a large volume to store it which would require a complete redesign of a plane. What does Boyd think of the potential of the zero-emission fuel?
“Certainly, there is a lot of work going on with hydrogen. There is still a lot of learning to do there. It is accurate to say we can do it,” he said. “But what if you have a drastically different-looking plane? Moreover, trying to totally redesign airports could change the whole efficiency of aviation in terms of restrictions for how you refuel a hydrogen plane. There are trillions of dollars of fuel infrastructure already, either in the ground or pipelines going to airports.”

He described these as “really complex questions” that need answers before you can have a sort of a sensible discussion on whether hydrogen is actually realistic as a solution for aviation in a 2050-2100 timeframe. This is “certainly not to say that there should not be continued work going on there, but it really will not be the silver bullet.”
Does Boyd think the carbon reductions that are being talked about COP27 and other big events will change the future of airports such as Saudi Arabia’s NEOM Airport? “If you are building a brand new airport, (you have to) think 10 or 15 years into the future. What is likely to be feasible, plausible or actually implemented, things like, should you have hydrogen supply built into the airport? It is much easier to do this when you are building the airport than to do a patched-up effort.”

Boyd does not rule out the idea of retrofitting carriers, something in which Ryanair has invested about $200 million. He cited the example of the eco demonstrator, a program by which Boeing buys back an existing aircraft from an operator. “We set it up as an experimental lab, putting all sorts of technology on board to test anything and everything. There have been about 300 different technologies tested on the eco-demonstrator over the past decade. Many of these you now see being introduced into planes today.”
He also talked about how Boeing is trying to make planes lighter and more fuel efficient, and whether these will change travelers’ experience. “People may not appreciate the amount of carbon fiber that in a Boeing in a Dreamliner or a 787. But that is tremendous in terms of weight,” he said. “It is incredibly strong and incredibly light, allows the appropriate amount of flex, which can give better aerodynamic properties from the wings.”
As of now, most of the aviation emissions are coming from developed nations, but the future of growth is expected be in developing countries. Will they have the deep pockets of nations like the US and Europe to fund emission reductions? “This comes to the crux of why decarbonization is critical,” Boyd said. “You need to decouple carbon dioxide from aviation itself.
“If we just focus on a couple of (advanced industrial) countries and think the job is done, then it is not at all. The same momentum needs to translate to China, India, parts of Asia, all of Asia. There are some fast-growing areas like Indonesia, Bangladesh, South America and Africa. (It is important) to make sure no country is left behind.”

 
RIYADH: PepsiCo is steering towards ensuring its products are net zero and has net water-positive targets, its regional CEO has said.
Eugene Willemsen, CEO for Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia told Arab News on the sidelines of the COP27 that the company had launched its “Pep Positive” initiative to reach sustainability. 
The US multinational aims to become net zero and net water-positive by 2040, and reduce virgin plastic use by half on a first serving basis by 2030.
Willemsen said that the company wanted to assist others in reducing water usage, and bring positive change “not just within our own four walls, but across the entire value chain.” 
Willemsen said that Pep Positive consists of three pillars of the company’s climate change strategy — positive agriculture, positive value chain and positive choices.
“We are one of the largest companies when it comes to sourcing crops,” he said. 
“We work with about 100,000 farmers across the world, and we use about seven million acres of agricultural land. We want to convert that land into regenerative agricultural practices, which means that we’re going to protect soil health by rotating crops.” 
Willemsen said cover crops would ultimately improve soil health, which in turn would improve yields for the farmers.
“We will further reduce water use through state-of-the-art irrigation techniques (that) also have a very positive impact on overall water use in the area where they operate,” he said. 
Supporting startups 
Willemsen said that PepsiCo launched a “Greenhouse Accelerator Program” in the Middle East region last year to provide grants, mentorships and opportunities to boost sustainable technologies.
“There are lots of innovative ideas out there that we want to tap into and we want to work with the startup community to leverage the creativity that is out there,” he said. 
“We will also support startups, getting businesses off the ground, and hopefully how we can use some of those great ideas to further drive Pep Positive.
Willemsen said that a $100,000 (SR376,000) grant would be awarded to one participant upon completion of the program. 
PepsiCo will also soon launch an event in Egypt to tap into the creativity of the startup community, Willemsen said. 
Sustainability initiatives 
The company last week launched the first recycled plastic bottles, also known as recycled PET, in Pakistan. 
“We’ve now announced, in my division, five markets where we’ve launched recycled PET. We’re aiming to expand that to 10 markets by the end of the first quarter of next year,” Willemsen said. 
PepsiCo set up proper collection systems with recyclers, and has worked with regulators to ensure that recycled PET is approved for food-grade consumption and used in PepsiCo’s packaging, he added.
Willemsen said that his company recently celebrated 60 years of operations in Saudi Arabia. 
“Saudi Arabia for us is one of our key markets. We’re very proud of our presence in the Kingdom and what we’ve been able to create with our local partners,” he said.
RIYADH: An international conservation group wants to help Saudi Arabia reach its goal of planting 450 million trees by 2030 to offset carbon emissions, its CEO has told Arab News.
Wildlife Alliance’s Suwanna Gauntlett also said that she wanted her organization to be on the ground training young Saudis to help realize the goal. 
Speaking at the Saudi Green Initiative, which is taking place on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference, Gauntlett said: “We are a non-governmental organization, nonprofit. Our mission is to conduct afforestation, where the forest has been denuded and to protect the forests that still exist.”
SGI plans to plant 450 million trees and rehabilitate eight million hectares of degraded land by 2030, which would cut around 200 million tons of carbon emissions a year.
“Our wish is to be selected to help them with the implementation and to accelerate (it) because there’s not much time left until 2030,” said Gauntlett.
Wildlife Alliance also aims to help with the country’s Vision 2030 mandate to designate as much as 30 percent of Saudi Arabia’s land and sea areas as protected as reserves.
The Kingdom currently has around 17 percent under protection, which include the Royal Natural Reserves, Natural Reserves and AlUla Natural Reserves.
“I’ve seen so far a great commitment from the Saudi government and the creation of the relevant departments to get the Saudi Green Initiative done. Centers, hiring managers, creating plans, and I believe now allocating budgets,” the Gauntlett told Arab News.
“We think that everybody should get involved. So, we’re specialists, we want to share our skills and our expertise and we want to do it now.”
Youth participation in the environmental sector is key to beating the climate crisis, she said.
“We have to let this new generation take charge of what we started. In my company, we now have one third of our 300 employees as youth just coming in,” she said.
The organization works on training those youths, motivating them, and giving the right framework, discipline, and professionalism that they need in order to get things done, Gauntlett added.
Wildlife Alliance is seeking to have its own pavilion and stage in next year’s 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, to allow them to hold conferences and presentations.
RIYADH: The Saudi Water and Electricity Regulatory Authority has introduced a regulatory framework for renewable energy systems for self-consumption. 
This is a reflection of the energy sector’s efforts to develop regulations that align with and pave the way for the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 strategies and goals for the use of renewable energy. 
Within an overarching vision striving towards net-zero, the initiative aligns with Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to reach the optimal energy mix for electricity production from renewable energy sources.
The framework for the self-consumption renewable energy systems was approved after the completion of the organizational and technical requirements by the concerned authorities were met.
The framework will enable consumers to install renewable energy systems for self-consumption, allowing them to utilize groundbreaking renewable energy technologies and provide a contribution to diversifying energy sources and helping Saudi Arabia achieve the optimal mix of electrical energy production.
Saudi Arabia is set to become the world’s biggest green energy producer, according to the chairman of ACWA Power.
Not only will the Kingdom be able to export green hydrogen to the rest of the world, it will also localize the whole value chain in the hopes of creating a real, proper, and sustainable economy that is capable of serving the country on a domestic level, Mohammed Abunayyan told Arab News last month.
In addition to being necessary for environmental reasons, the Kingdom’s renewable and energy transition also plays a role in the creation of more jobs and bolstering capacities and capabilities in line with the country’s industrialization goals, Abunayyan stressed.
Moreover, public-private partnerships are suitable when it comes to efforts to boost renewable energy since they are expected to help with innovation and finance structuring. 
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center has launched the second edition of the Circular Carbon Economy Index, a tool to compare how 64 countries are deploying various methods and technologies to reduce their CO2 emissions.
Launched during the UN Climate Change Conference, COP27, the CCE Index covers 90 percent of the global economy and carbon emissions, according to a statement. 
The number of countries included in the Index has increased from 30 to 64, Fahad Alturki, vice president of Knowledge and Analysis at KAPSARC, said.
The newly launched CCE is based on four Rs namely, reducing, recycling, reusing, and removing.
“The CCE draws the attention to the need to manage energy and carbon flows holistically, each country and actor based on its strengths and priorities,” Alturki said. 
In the 2022 edition, Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, the UK and Switzerland, top the CCE Index. At the bottom are five Sub-Saharan African countries. 
The gap between these top and bottom performers is notable, which indicates that countries toward the end of the list in particular will be in need of significant assistance to be able to successfully transition to CCEs. 
With regard to CCE Performance, many countries were found not yet deploying some of the most important technologies necessary for achieving full carbon circularity.
Compared with the CCE Index of last year, 57 countries improved their total CCE Index scores in 2022, while seven saw a deterioration in their scores.
For many countries, the most challenging task for a successful transition will be addressing the large gaps in enabling factors and conditions in areas like technology and access to sustainable finance, said Fatih Yilmaz, a fellow in the Climate and Sustainability Program at KAPSARC. 
On Saturday, the Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology said the circular carbon economy is the only way to tackle climate change.
This came as Abdullah Alswaha outlined the Kingdom’s green initiatives during the UN Climate Change Conference, or COP 27, in Sharm El-Sheikh.  
When it comes to the “remove” factor, he said Aramco, in collaboration with the Ministry of Energy, has launched a carbon capture and storage hub with a storage capacity of up to nine million tons of carbon dioxide per year.  
With adequate talent and technology, the minister stressed Aramco has demonstrated that carbon can coexist within the transition to net zero underground.

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