Read the January 2024 MEED Business Review

Read the January 2024 MEED Business Review

Cop28 ends with fossil fuel compromise; Contractors vie for schemes worth $270bn; Oman's economic uptick hinges on rise in project activity

The UAE's Cop28 stopped short of recommending the phasing down of fossil fuels, but scored a major victory by referencing, for the first time since Cop started, the need to transition away from fossil fuels to keep the 1.5-degree-Celsius temperature goal alive.MEED's latest issue explores the conference's imperfect commitment, which, in many ways, was also the best a Cop has ever had.Cop28 also saw commitments to treble renewable and nuclear power, and secured $89bn in pledges covering climate finance, local climate action and the Loss and Damage Fund. MEED's energy editor Jennifer Aguinaldo writes about how the promises will spur clean energy in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) here. In this month's industry report, MEED takes a look at the major projects the region has to look forward to in 2024.While 2023 may have been one of the best years in the past decade for project contract awards activity in the Mena region, a pipeline of upcoming regional projects valued at $270bn bodes well for 2024.Top schemes to watch include Saudi Arabia’s $17.6bn Neom City Development Programme, the $7bn expansion project at Abu Dhabi’s Upper Zakum offshore oil