The Trends Research and Advisory Center, in cooperation with the Atlantic Council, is organizing its second annual conference on September 28 and 29, titled "Sustainable Security in the Middle East: Challenges and Prospects of Climate Change," at the Council's headquarters in the U.S. capital, Washington, with the participation of ministers and about 30 speakers from important political figures and experts from various countries around the world.

This year's conference will discuss the progress of climate action in the region and the world, explore environmental challenges and opportunities, and present ambitious solutions. The conference sessions over two days will offer unique perspectives focusing on resilience to climate risks, the transition to a low-emission economy, and cooperation to solve urgent challenges. The conference aims to derive insights from experts and specialists inside and outside the region to formulate recommendations for policymakers.

The conference will begin with an opening speech by His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Member of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, while the keynote speech will be delivered by David Leventstein, Senior Advisor to the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Affairs.

Security and Climate Change

Day one’s events also include a welcome speech presented by Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Al Ali, Chief Executive Officer of the Trends Center, and Mr. Jonathan Panikoff, Director of the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative within Middle East Programs at the Atlantic Council.

The first session will discuss the topic of national security and climate change and the Middle East: current challenges and future prospects, shedding light on the perspective of climate change and national security in the region and the implications of these issues on the Middle East and regional stability. It will also address environmental changes, the effects of global warming on public health, the connection between extreme natural phenomena and increased migration flows, and climate change as a geopolitical challenge: adaptation and resilient development. The session will be moderated by Rina Niinan, non-resident senior fellow at the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center, Atlantic Council; CEO of the partner foundation, News3 Dow.

Resource Scarcity

The second session will address the impacts of resource scarcity and population growth in the Middle East. It will discuss the effects of the war in Ukraine on the Middle East’s main agricultural imports, such as wheat. The session will also cover regional challenges related to increasing demand for food and water, especially in light of the expected population growth in the region, future projections and implications of population growth and drought on the infrastructure of food and water systems, the strategic importance of water and the growing concept of cross-border water conflict in the Middle East, the impact of climate change on supply chain operations, regional food security strategies, and the effects of the war in Ukraine on primary agricultural imports to the Middle East and North Africa, such as wheat. Dr. Christian Alexander, Head of Strategic Studies at Trends, will moderate the session.

Clean Energy

The third session of day one will start in the afternoon U.S. time with a keynote speech by His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology of the United Arab Emirates, and the UAE’s Special Envoy for Climate Change. Following this, the session will address energy industries, infrastructure, and policy in the Middle East: opportunities and challenges of the transition to clean energy. This session will discuss the transition to an energy system where environmentally friendly technologies and the potential of sustainable clean energy sources play an increasingly important role. It will also cover the role of industrial partnerships in transitioning to safe and low-carbon energy systems, transformations of major energy-intensive industries in their pursuit to align with sustainability goals, the impact of increasing regional gas supplies to Europe (in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine) on the rapid transition to wind, solar, and hydrogen energy, challenges of energy transition in the Middle East and North Africa, and the impact of renewable energy generation on urban infrastructure, transportation systems, and electricity grids. The session will be moderated by Dan Murphy, anchor and correspondent for CNBC in the Middle East.

Climate Diplomacy

Day two of the second annual Trends conference in Washington will begin with an opening speech by Her Excellency Mariam bint Mohammed Al Muhairi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment of the UAE, followed by the fourth session titled "Between COP27 and COP28: Middle Eastern Countries' Diplomatic Efforts to Address Climate Change." The session will discuss the role of climate summits in facilitating the transition to a low-carbon economy and highlight the importance of geopolitical factors related to climate diplomacy. It will also feature new insights for building a sustainable environmental framework, evaluate the commitments and pledges made at COP26, and address climate diplomacy as an increasing challenge to foreign policy. This title will be divided into two topics about COP27 and COP28, with the participation in person of Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, CEO of the UAE’s independent Climate Action Accelerators project, highlighting the UAE’s hosting of this conference. The session will be moderated by Awad Al Bariki, Head of Trends Global Sector.

Green Security Initiatives

The fifth session is titled "Multilateral Green Security Initiatives: A New Green Era Towards Collective Environmental Security in the Middle East." This session will discuss the importance of regional and cooperative efforts in activating Middle Eastern green security initiatives, ways to mitigate challenges caused by environmental insecurity, methods to enhance regional security and resilient key infrastructure systems to various climatic changes through environmental measures and collective green initiatives. It will explore the use of multilateral green security initiatives to enhance the capacity of Middle Eastern and North African countries to be global leaders in a resilient and inclusive post-carbon economy, the economic aspects of sustainable environmental security, necessary investments to achieve environmental security, and the role of media in supporting Middle Eastern green security initiatives. The session will be moderated by Mohammed Al Mulla, founder and director of the Diwan Al Mulla network in Kuwait.

The conference will conclude with recommendations and a closing speech delivered by Somaya Al Hadrami, Vice President of Trends Global Sector, and Mr. William Wachsler, Senior Director of the Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East Programs at the Atlantic Council.

Supporting International Efforts

Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Al Ali, CEO of the Trends Center, stated that the second annual Trends conference, coinciding with the center’s eighth anniversary, which includes experts and thinkers, will certainly be an important opportunity to present ideas and visions that help support regional and international efforts aimed at addressing the risk of global warming and achieving a better understanding of the challenges that hindered previous efforts, in order to overcome them and achieve the desired goals, especially in achieving sustainable environmental security in the Middle East. He emphasized that “Trends,” with its global vision, seeks to be an intellectual bridge between the region and the world through its events and substantial research studies.