Positive Zero, a decarbonization company based in Dubai, announced that BlackRock has agreed to invest up to $400 million in the company through a diversified infrastructure fund, as reported by Reuters.
The investment will support Positive Zero, an infrastructure business focused on decentralized decarbonization, in its efforts to enhance energy transition projects in the Gulf countries.
Positive Zero was established last year by Creek Capital, a climate investment-focused firm, coinciding with the U.N. COP27 climate summit held in Egypt. It was formed through the merger of SirajPower, a solar company, Taka Solutions, an energy efficiency services firm, and HYPR Energy, an on-demand battery business.
Read more: PIF, BlackRock sign MoU to explore infrastructure investments in Saudi, MENA
Creek Capital’s chairman, Mohammed Abdulghaffar Hussain, and its managing director, David Auriau, co-founded the firm. Additionally, Hussain serves as the managing director of Green Coast Enterprises, a family conglomerate based in Dubai, while Auriau previously worked at Alstom Power and consultancy Oliver Wyman.
Ed Winter, BlackRock’s head of Asia-Pacific and Middle East for diversified infrastructure, stated in the release issued by Positive Zero that the company is well-positioned to leverage the favorable conditions created by ambitious economic growth and the energy-transition goals set by the UAE and other Gulf countries.
Hussain mentioned in the statement that the investment aligns with the UAE-hosted COP28 summit’s objective to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030, which concluded last week.
Alterra
Alterra, a $30 billion climate fund initiated by the UAE, has garnered support from institutional investors including BlackRock. The fund’s objective is to generate a global funding of $250 billion within the upcoming six years.
Additionally, according to the Climate Policy Initiative, an estimated $2.4 trillion per annum will be necessary by 2030 to tackle climate change in emerging markets and developing economies.
Meanwhile, Deloitte has emphasized that an annual investment of $5 trillion to $7 trillion will be required until 2050 to facilitate the energy sector’s transition. However, the current expenditure stands at less than $2 trillion per year.
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