World Green Economy Summit 2026 to kick off Wednesday in Dubai

The 12th edition of the World Green Economy Summit (WGES) 2026 will kick off on Wednesday under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.

Organised by the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and the World Green Economy Organisation (WGEO), the two-day summit will be held at the Dubai World Trade Centre, under the theme "From Success to Scale: Showcasing the Green Economy".

WGES will bring together 135 speakers, including ministers, business leaders, government officials, decision-makers, experts and innovators from around the world. They will exchange insights and expertise, and showcase proven models and solutions that can be scaled up to drive the green economy journey forward.

Among the prominent speakers are Sheikha Dr. Shamma Mohammed Khalid Al Nahyan, Chairperson of the Board of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalid Al Nahyan Cultural and Educational Institutions; Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice-Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, MD and CEO of DEWA and Chairman of the World Green Economy Organisation (WGEO); Dr Amna bint Abdullah Al Dahak, Minister of Climate Change & Environment; Dr Aliou Gori Diouf, Senegal’s Minister of Environment and Ecological Transition, and Steven Victor, Palau’s Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment.

They will be joined by Ahmed Buti Al Muhairbi, Secretary-General of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Emirates Energy Award, and Abdulla Balalaa, the UAE’s Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Energy and Sustainability.

Business and industry speakers include Darren Kimur, CEO of AISquared; Dr Arshad Mansoor, President and CEO of EPRI; Saeed Al Abbar, CEO and founder of AESG; Amel Chadli, President of Schneider Electric’s Gulf Cluster President; Yousif Lootah, founder and CEO of Lootah BioFuels; Bashar Al Natoor, Managing Director and Global Head of Islamic Finance at Fitch Ratings; and Saeed Al Abbar, CEO and founder of AESG.

“WGES reinforces the UAE’s position as a key global partner in catalysing investment opportunities for climate action and the green economy. The summit accelerates innovations and practices that address rapid challenges and drive an outstanding shift towards scaling up the implementation of green solutions,” said Al Tayer.

WGES 2026 will highlight four main thematic pillars: Energy Technology and Infrastructure; Business Strategy and Transition; Water and Food Security; and Finance. It will also explore three cross-cutting themes, comprising Artificial Intelligence, Governance and System Enablers: Supply Chains and Circular Economy.

The summit’s agenda features a series of high-level sessions exploring the technologies, investments and policy approaches shaping the transition to a green economy. Sessions on clean energy and innovation include "The Innovation Equation: How to Bring Down the Cost of Green", "Decarbonising at Scale: Clean Energy Solutions for Net-Zero", "Driving Success: The Middle East’s Energy Storage Solutions", "Electricity for All: How Clean Energy Is Becoming More Accessible" and "Powering AI Sustainably: Advancing Smarter and Greener Data Centres".

The agenda will also explore the economic and investment opportunities arising from the green transition through sessions such as "Green as a Growth Strategy: The Business Case for Sustainability", "The $7 Trillion Opportunity: Which Sectors Are Winning and Why", "Proving ROI: The Success of Climate Investments/Projects", "Green Finance and the GCC: How the Region is Leveraging Green Finance", "Blended Finance: Unlocking the Power of Innovative Solutions" and "The Business Case for Climate Resilience".

Other sessions will address infrastructure, water and food security, including "Exporting Utility Excellence: Extending Dubai’s Leading Infrastructure Models to Global Markets", "Reverse Osmosis and Next-Gen Technologies: Transforming the Future of Clean Water" and "Feeding a Warmer World: The Tech Transforming Food Production".

WGES 2026 will also host a session to announce the next cycle of the Emirates Energy Award (EEA).