WGES 2026 supports scaling up innovative solutions to advance the green economy

Under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and the World Green Economy Organization (WGEO) are organising the 12th World Green Economy Summit (WGES) on 21 and 22 October 2026 at the Dubai World Trade Centre, under the theme ‘From Success to Scale: Showcasing the Green Economy’.

This year, the summit focuses on four main pillars: Energy Technology and Infrastructure; Business Strategy and Transition; Water and Food Security; and Finance. These are complemented by three cross-cutting themes: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Governance and System Enablers: Supply Chains and Circular Economy.

The summit will host 135 speakers, including ministers, business leaders, government officials, decision-makers, experts and innovators from around the world. Speakers will highlight its role in facilitating the exchange of perspectives, ideas and expertise while showcasing proven models and scalable solutions to advance the green economy.

Energy Technology and Infrastructure

This pillar examines ways to rapidly expand clean energy deployment and the role of energy storage in improving the reliability of renewable energy systems.

Najib Saab, Secretary General of the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED), said: “We shall be witnessing a security-driven, more than climate-driven, transition. This has already been demonstrated in Europe in recent years. The countries least affected by gas and oil shortages and high prices were those with a higher share of renewables in their energy mix.”

Arshad Mansoor, President and CEO of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), said: “Powering prosperity and protecting the planet are not competing objectives. They are a single mandate. Delivering abundant, accessible, reliable and affordable electricity to fuel economic growth through solutions that reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality while protecting water, land and biodiversity, requires integration rather than trade-offs.”

Mazin Khan, Chief Financial Officer of Masdar, said: “Delivering on the global energy transformation will require innovation in financing, as much as in technology. Bringing public and private finance together can strengthen investor confidence, unlock greater access to funding and ensure that projects are progressed.”

Angela Homsi, founder and President of Ignite Power, said: “The transition to a green economy is no longer simply an environmental imperative. It is an economic and strategic one – creating more resilient infrastructure, strengthening energy security, mobilising investment and opening new pathways for growth, particularly across emerging markets.”

Valerio Capizzi, Global Lead for Utilities at ING Bank, said: “At a time when the energy transition is moving from ambition to execution, I look forward to contributing my experience working with utilities and infrastructure leaders across international markets.”

Dharmesh Kumar, Associate Director for Earth and Environment at WSP, said: “With growing populations and rising living standards, demand for energy and industrial products will continue to increase. Meeting this challenge requires scaling innovation, enabling supportive policies and accelerating cross-sector collaboration to drive sustainable, resilient and competitive growth.”

Sanjay Kommera, CEO of Accel1, said: “The green economy must now move beyond ambition and become infrastructure. For too long, climate action has focused primarily on measuring environmental change, reporting impact and setting targets for the future.”

Business Strategy and Transition

This pillar explores how leading organisations are integrating green growth into their core strategies.

Syed Adeel Abbas, Regional Climate Lead for the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan at the World Bank, said: “Mobilising private capital at the scale needed for climate and development remains one of the defining challenges of our time. Across the Middle East and North Africa region and beyond, growing interest in green bonds and other sustainable finance instruments is helping connect investors with opportunities that support both economic transformation and climate objectives.”

Aisha Al Abdooli, Director of Green Development and Environmental Affairs at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, said: “In the UAE, we are working to embed sustainability across policy, economic development and decision-making, supported by innovation, robust environmental data and strong partnerships across government, the private sector, academia and international organisations.”

Yousuf Saeed Lootah, Founder and CEO of Lootah Biofuels, said: “The next evolution is the intelligent circular economy, where robotics, artificial intelligence and blockchain work together to transform how waste is collected, tracked and converted into clean energy. From Dubai, we can show the world that the circular economy is not only about protecting our future; it is about building the economy of the future.”

Jessica Robinson, Partner at Solve Strategies, said: “At WGES 2026, I look forward to presenting case examples from Africa and the Gulf that illustrate how climate projects are already generating measurable financial returns, rather than promising them at some future point.”

Nick Falkowski, co-founder and CEO of Meaningful Planet, said: “Financial sustainability and environmental sustainability are not competing objectives. Building a better, more secure and prosperous future requires more than new solutions and technologies. It also requires us to fundamentally rethink how existing industries work.”

Priya Sarma, Head of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability at Unilever Beauty & Wellbeing (GCC, Turkey, Pakistan and Bangladesh), said: “From circularity and low-carbon innovation to sustainable manufacturing and consumption, we have seen that real progress happens when purpose is matched with partnership and action.”

Yohaan Cama, Head of Corporate Sustainability at GEMS Education, said: “In the education sector, we have seen that sustainability is far more than an environmental initiative. It can drive operational efficiencies, strengthen resilience, unlock access to capital and create long-term value for stakeholders. Schools also have a unique responsibility and opportunity to shape the behaviours, mindset and decision-making of future generations, making education a powerful catalyst for a more sustainable economy.”

Water and Food Security

This pillar highlights the role of technology and infrastructure in turning challenges into strategic advantages and capabilities.

Marina Antonopoulou, Chief Climate Change and Conservation Officer at Emirates Nature WWF, said: “Nature-based solutions can help manage climate-related risks such as flooding, extreme heat and water stress, while also strengthening food and water security, supporting livelihoods and delivering wider benefits for biodiversity and local economies.”

Ghita Bahmad, founder and CEO of The Food Engineer, said: “As climate pressure intensifies, food systems must become more resilient, resource-efficient and locally adaptable. Technology is giving us extraordinary tools, but it alone will not transform our food system. The real opportunity lies in connecting innovation with people, skills and implementation.”

Stefano Castoldi, Partner, Climate Change & Sustainability Services, EY, said: “For decades, water scarcity was treated as the region’s greatest constraint. It is time to treat water as its greatest strategic asset. Reverse osmosis was the Middle East’s success story that turned seawater into economic growth.”

Kai-Uwe Buerger, co-founder and CEO of A1 Water & Energy Group, said: “Technology alone will not deliver water and energy security. Reaching SDG 6 and SDG 7 – water and clean energy for all – by 2030, or coming close, demands innovative and comprehensive solutions across technology, financing and policy, and a step-change in private-capital mobilisation.”

Anne Le Guennec, CEO of Veolia Water Technologies, said: “This ability to combine scale, flexibility and speed is essential to supporting territories facing urgent challenges today and preparing them for tomorrow. Yet resilience must also be measured by the resources we preserve. Energy efficiency is therefore at the heart of our approach: the significant reductions already achieved demonstrate that desalination can contribute to water security while limiting its environmental footprint.”

Marie Deschamps, Director of the MENA Regenerative Agriculture Initiative at Goumbook, said: “In the MENA region, the future of food lies in combining technology, science, local knowledge and nature-based solutions to build food systems that are regenerative and fit for a warmer world, and communities that are resilient enough to thrive within them.”

Finance

This pillar examines ways to support climate investment as an unprecedented opportunity for prosperity and economic growth.

Saeed Al Abbar, CEO and founder of AESG, said: “The transition to a green economy will not be achieved through isolated targets or sustainability commitments alone. We need to focus on scalable solutions that make both environmental and economic sense. The World Green Economy Summit is an important platform to bring together the technology, investment and collaboration needed to accelerate that transition.”

Suzanna ElMassah, Professor of Economics and Director of the Sustainability Programme at Zayed University, said: “Successful companies move beyond treating ESG as a reporting exercise. They integrate sustainability into investment, innovation, operations, workforce development and market strategy. The business case is increasingly clear. Green revenues are growing faster than conventional business lines, while companies that anticipate the transition are better positioned to manage risk, withstand shocks and capture emerging opportunities.”

Alexander Lempka, founder and CEO of Connect Earth, said: “The financial sector plays the defining role in enabling the UAE and economies worldwide to transition to a low-carbon economy. Sustainability-linked loans, green bonds and other financial products can incentivise corporations, SMEs and consumers to adopt more sustainable behaviours and contribute to the decarbonisation of our planet.”

Naveen Raza, Head of the Net-Zero Transition at HSBC in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (MENAT), said: “Blended finance matters now more than ever because it can help to reduce risk, improve bankability and crowd in private capital at the pace and size that the transition demands. I’ll also be sharing perspectives on innovative Islamic finance approaches that can help align Islamic financing with real-economy net-zero outcomes that help to broaden participation in the transition.”

Joan Larrea, CEO of Convergence Blended Finance, said: “The World Green Economy Summit is an important opportunity to strengthen the partnerships needed to finance green growth in emerging markets. The Gulf economies have a particularly important role to play, combining deep investment expertise, significant pools of private capital and philanthropic resources with a growing commitment to sustainable development.”

Anssi Mikola, founder and CEO of RiverRecycle, said: “I’m honoured to speak at the World Green Economy Summit 2026. My session looks at how RiverRecycle intercepts plastic before it reaches the ocean, and turns the low-value plastic we collect into construction boards that sustain our recycling operations.”

Danny Touma, Global Co-Lead, AI Infrastructure and Deals, and Energy Transition Lead at PwC Middle East, said: “The World Green Economy Summit provides an important platform to bring these stakeholders together, share practical experience and focus on how ambition can be translated into investable, scalable and deliverable solutions.”

Jad Dib, Partner at McKinsey & Co’s Dubai Office, said: “At WGES 2026, I look forward to discussing how we can scale the infrastructure needed for AI while improving energy efficiency, reducing water intensity and accelerating cleaner power solutions. The opportunity is to make the next generation of data centres not only more powerful, but fundamentally smarter and more sustainable.”

Deepthy K B, Senior Director for MENA at GBCI and the US Green Building Council, said: “Honoured and grateful to speak at the 12th World Green Economy Summit in Dubai, whose theme, ‘From Success to Scale: Showcasing the Green Economy’, reflects the urgent need to move from ambition to measurable, scalable impact.”

Vineet Mittal, co-founder and Director of Finance and Strategy at Navitas Solar, said: “Whether we are delivering utility-scale projects in Africa or scaling manufacturing in India, the question is the same: how do we make clean energy the most affordable choice for every market? The answer lies in patient capital, smart financial structuring and partnerships across borders. Dubai is the right place to bring these conversations together, and I invite fellow leaders, investors and innovators to join us on 21 October.”