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Daily Digest for
September 24, 2025
QIA and Blue Owl form digital infrastructure partnership
Qatar Investment Authority and Blue Owl Capital entered a Strategic Partnership Agreement to create a digital infrastructure platform, with QIA’s contribution expected to help launch more than $3 billion of initial data center assets. The partnership targets accelerating global compute for hyperscalers amid cloud and AI transformation, leveraging Blue Owl’s Digital Infrastructure strategy which had raised $39 billion as of June 30, 2025.
Brazil Pledges US$1bn to Tropical Forests Fund Ahead of COP30
President Lula announced Brazil will contribute US$1 billion to the Tropical Forests Forever Fund (TFFF) and urged countries to take climate action seriously ahead of COP30 in Belém in November 2025. Environment Minister Marina Silva said the fund aims to mobilize about US$125 billion and yield roughly US$4 billion per year for payments for protected forest hectares.
Contracts signed for two UK carbon capture projects
The UK government confirmed that Padeswood (Heidelberg Materials UK) and Protos (Encyclis) have signed final contracts with the Low Carbon Contracts Company and are ready to begin construction, securing 500 skilled jobs and connecting to Eni’s Liverpool Bay Transport & Storage as part of the HyNet cluster. The two projects will capture a combined 1.2 million tonnes of CO2 annually (800,000 t at Padeswood; 400,000 t at Protos) and are backed by the government’s £9.4 billion carbon capture commitment.
North East AI Growth Zone taskforce launched
The UK government launched a taskforce led by Technology Secretary Liz Kendall to accelerate planning, training and site development for the North East AI Growth Zone, targeting rapid construction at Cambois and Cobalt Park and new apprenticeship routes. The Growth Zone is set to unlock up to £30 billion in investment, includes Blackstone’s £10 billion commitment to Cambois and the Stargate UK partnership plans to deploy up to 8,000 NVIDIA GPUs early next year (scaling to 31,000).
BBNJ Agreement to enter into force January 2026
France convened representatives of the 68 States that deposited ratification of the BBNJ Agreement on 23 September 2025 at the UN General Assembly, enabling the treaty to enter into force on 17 January 2026 with President Emmanuel Macron and UN Secretary-General António Guterres present. French ministers credited rapid French diplomacy for securing ratifications within two years of adoption (June 2023), and the first Ocean COP is scheduled for 2026.
MCJ invests in Rodatherm closed-loop geothermal
MCJ announced its investment in Rodatherm’s $38M Series A led by Evok Innovations to commercialize a closed-loop geothermal system targeting an LCOE of $50/MWh. Rodatherm plans a 1.8 MW demonstration in Utah by end-2026 and has an offtake agreement with UAMPS.
Tropical Forest Forever Facility proposed ahead of COP30
The Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) was proposed at COP28 and aims to launch at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, with Concept Note 3.0 published in August 2025 and an expected update before COP30. Greenpeace urges stronger safeguards — including a mandatory 20% minimum for Indigenous Peoples, stricter investment exclusions, improved degradation monitoring, and a UNFCCC Forest Action Plan to halt deforestation by 2030.