DUBAI, 23rd October, 2026 (WAM) -- The second day of the 12th World Green Economy Summit (WGES) featured a series of high-level panel discussions exploring how finance, technology, policy and innovation can accelerate the transition to a resilient, inclusive green economy.
Discussions spanned green and blended finance, clean energy and water, climate resilience, food security and the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) in driving sustainable solutions at scale.
The "Blended Finance: Unlocking the Power of Innovative Solutions" session featured Dr Aliou Gori Diouf, Senegal’s Minister of Environment and Ecological Transition; Naveen Raza, Head of the Net-Zero Transition in the MENA region and Turkey at HSBC; and Joan Larrea, CEO of Convergence Blended Finance. It was moderated by Jonathan Maxwell, founder and Group CEO of Sustainable Development Capital LLP (SDCL).
The discussion highlighted barriers to private investment in sustainable projects, including high financing costs, limited data and insufficient project scale. Speakers outlined how blended finance, guarantees, insurance and public-private partnerships can mitigate risks and attract investment, stressing the importance of national strategies, measurable impact and scaling proven solutions to commercial viability.
The session titled "The Business Case for Climate Resilience" examined the importance of investing in nature, climate resilience and sustainable business practices. The session was moderated by Rebecca McLaughlin-Eastham, Editor-in-Chief of English News at Dubai Media Inc., and featured Steven Victor, Palau’s Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Environment; Dr Shargiil Bashir, Chief Sustainability Officer and Executive Vice President of First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB); Priya Sarma, Head of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability at Unilever Beauty & Wellbeing in the GCC, Türkiye, Pakistan and Bangladesh; and Marina Antonopoulou, CEO of Climate Change and Nature Conservation at Emirates Nature-WWF.
The panellists emphasised protecting oceans, biodiversity and ecosystems, improving resource efficiency and using data to assess climate risks. They also stressed the need for partnerships among governments, businesses and communities, alongside accessible financing, local capacity-building and scalable solutions.
“Communities don’t live in isolation; they live in seascapes or landscapes, so you have multiple users and multiple players operating. So, it’s very important to make sure that we listen to those communities and understand how they depend on nature or natural ecosystems,” Antonopoulou said.
The "High-Level Policy and Implementation Dialogue: AI for Energy Access, Grid Transformation and Energy Security" session featured Thoriq Ibrahim, Ambassador of the Maldives to the UAE; Seifeddine Hamdi, Adviser to the President on Financing Solutions at the African Development Bank Group; Bilal Khursheed, Executive Director of Global Power and Utilities at Microsoft; Mudassar Asghar, Technical and Commercial Director of Grid Automation in the MENA region and Türkiye at GE Vernova; Qais Al Suwaidi, Vice President of Innovation and R&D at TAQA; Khulood Alawadhi, Director of Advanced Technology Service at Moro Hub; and Wafaa Elsawah, Regional Programme Manager for Digital Readiness in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region at Intel Corporation.
The session was moderated by Ahmed Al Amra, the Country Representative of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) in the UAE.
Speakers highlighted AI’s potential to optimise energy systems, integrate renewables, improve grid reliability and strengthen energy security, adding that scaling these solutions requires investment, modern infrastructure, trusted data, skilled workforces, effective governance and international partnerships. They stressed the need for equitable access and affordability while ensuring developing countries benefit from the AI-driven energy transformation.
The "Green Finance and the GCC: How the Region is Leveraging Green Finance" session examined the role of green bonds and sukuk in financing the GCC’s transition, noting that sukuk comprise 44 percent of outstanding ESG-related debt issuance.
Speakers called for harmonised green taxonomies, independent verification of environmental impact to counter greenwashing and measures to turn climate commitments into bankable projects through guarantees, blended finance and private capital, supporting emissions reductions and climate adaptation.
The session featured Alexander Lempka, founder of Connect Earth, Bashar Al Natoor, Managing Director and Global Head of Islamic Finance at Fitch Ratings; Avinash Kumar, President and co-founder of Earthood; and Syed Adeel Abbas, Regional Climate Lead, MENA, at the World Bank. The session was moderated by Rebecca McLaughlin-Eastham, Editor-in-Chief of English News at Dubai Media Inc.
During the session titled "Reverse Osmosis and Next-Gen Technologies: Transforming the Future of Clean Water", speakers highlighted that water scarcity has become a global challenge, shifting the focus from whether desalination is necessary to how it can be done sustainably. The session featured Anne Le Guennec, CEO of Veolia Water Technologies; Kai-Uwe Buerger, co-founder and CEO of A1 Water & Energy Group; with Stefano Castoldi, Partner at EY Climate Change & Sustainability Services, as moderator.
The panellists added that continuous improvement, data and AI deliver more value than breakthrough technology, highlighting that global water demand is set to exceed supply by 40 percent within a decade, underscoring the need for about US$300 billion in investment, skilled talent and strong public-private partnership frameworks.
The session titled "The $7 Trillion Opportunity: Which Sectors Are Winning and Why", moderated by Dubai One News Anchor Katie Jensen, examined green-economy opportunities in solar power, battery storage, electricity grids, climate technology, circular solutions and AI-driven automation.
The panellists included Aditya Saraswat, Partner and Head of MENA and Caspian Research at Rystad Energy; Yousif Lootah, founder and CEO of Lootah Biofuels; Sanjay Kommera, founder and CEO of Accel1; and Jonathan Keyes, Head of the Sustainable Solutions Group in the Middle East at ING Bank.
Discussions highlighted the leadership of solar power and batteries, alongside cost and market challenges facing hydrogen projects. Speakers emphasised aligning technology and policy with customer and investor needs, expanding waste-to-biofuel solutions and investing in environmental monitoring, carbon capture and electrification to drive sustainable growth by 2030.
The "Electricity for All: How Clean Energy Is Becoming More Accessible" session highlighted how distributed solar-and-battery systems are the fastest, cheapest route to universal electricity.
Speakers included Najib Saab, Secretary-General of the Arab Forum for Environment and Development; Angela Homsi, founder and President of Ignite Energy Access; and Aisha Mohamed Al Abdooli, Director of the Green Development and Environment Affairs Department in the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment.
Homsi noted that Ignite Energy Access has connected 20 million people and is targeting 100 million by 2030. The speakers praised the UAE’s COP28 leadership, calling for renewables to be framed as an economic decision and not a moral one. The session was moderated by Rebecca McLaughlin-Eastham, Editor-in-Chief of English News at Dubai Media Inc.
During the session titled "Proving ROI: The Success of Climate Investments/Projects", speakers highlighted that 77 percent of executives report that sustainability investments now outperform other investments.
The session was moderated by Dubai One News Anchor Katie Jensen and featured Jonathan Maxwell, founder and Group CEO of Sustainable Development Capital LLP (SDCL); Jessica Robinson, Partner at Solve Strategies; and Robin Butteris, Partner, Strategy and Transactions, at Deloitte Middle East.
The panellists emphasised that resilience protects asset values and income while guarantees unlock capital more effectively than subsidies. They added that around three-quarters of primary energy is wasted, so cutting that waste delivers the clearest returns.
The "Agentic AI: From Intelligent Systems to Autonomous Digital Transformation" session highlighted how agentic AI is evolving from recommending actions to taking them, underscoring the need for strong cybersecurity, data and infrastructure foundations, human oversight and governance.
Speakers noted that 74 percent of organisations remain stuck in the pilot stage and called for greater youth-led innovation to support the UAE’s goal of reaching AED3 trillion in gross domestic product by 2031.
The session featured Saif Alkaabi, founder of the Safra app, Mohammed Alblooshi, Industrial Energy Efficiency Specialist at the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy; and Mouza AlMansoori, AI Adviser and Youth Council President at SAP. The session was moderated by Mira Aljassmi, IT Project Manager and Youth Council President at Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC).
The "Feeding a Warmer World: The Tech Transforming Food Production" session featured Ghita Bahmad, founder and CEO of The Food Engineer and Marie Deschamps, Director of the MENA Regenerative Agriculture Initiative at Goumbook, who highlighted that high-tech farming requires substantial capital expenditure and energy resources, with success dependent on a secured route to market and cheaper energy.
They outlined how regenerative agriculture offers a low-cost alternative, with a 0.4 percent rise in topsoil carbon enough to offset annual global emissions. They added that priorities should include shifting subsidies towards transition finance, protecting local produce and building a talent pipeline for the 62,000 UAE food sector jobs expected by 2045.