Three-Day Summit with Universities Climate Network to Accelerate Large-Scale Deployment of Research-Driven Innovation
Delivering on climate ambitions by translating knowledge into solutions and solutions into systems that work at scale will define the next era of climate leadership, said His Excellency Professor Ebrahim Al Hajri, President, Khalifa University of Science and Technology and General Chair of the Abu Dhabi Climate Solutions Summit 2026.
Welcoming delegates and participants to the inaugural Abu Dhabi Climate Solutions Summit 2026, His Excellency Professor Al Hajri highlighted the importance of connecting research and innovation with policymakers, investors and industry to create clearer pathways for promising climate solutions to reach deployment. The three-day Summit, themed ‘From Climate Knowledge to Climate Action,’ runs from 8 to 10 October and is co-organized by Khalifa University’s Research Institute for Resource Management and Sustainability and the UAE Universities Climate Network (UCN), with support from Mubadala Youth Council.
His Excellency Professor Ebrahim Al Hajri said: “We have spent decades discussing the challenges of climate change. Now is the time to accelerate action. Science and technology are essential, but lasting sustainability requires solutions that connect environmental protection with social well-being and human progress. Through the Abu Dhabi Climate Solutions Summit 2026, our responsibility is to turn knowledge into meaningful action that improves lives and safeguards the future of the next generation.”
On Thursday, 8 October, the Summit featured 22 conference sessions, a high-level panel, and a keynote speech bringing together researchers, scientists, academics, industry leaders and climate experts to exchange knowledge and advance solutions across energy, water, food, climate technologies, sustainability and innovation.
Opening remarks were delivered by His Excellency Majid Al Suwaidi, Director General of the COP28 Presidency and CEO of ALTÉRRA.
His Excellency Majid Al Suwaidi said: “Today’s panels, workshops and hackathon provide an opportunity to build new partnerships, identify scalable solutions, and define practical pathways to move them forward. The UAE has shown what is possible when ambition is matched by action. My hope is that today helps us build the partnerships, technologies and investment pathways needed for the next chapter of climate solutions.”
During the Summit’s opening ceremony, His Excellency Dr. Abdullah Belhaif Al Nuaimi, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Emirates Scholar Center for Studies & research, and Honorary President of the Emirates Association for Safety & Emergency Security,1- Climate Solutions Summit said: “Today is an era of action. We are ready to lead, but we want to lead with solutions that are based not only on the ecosystem but also integrated with the technologies available today. The impact of climate change is not only affecting our lives; it is affecting humanity. Colleagues at this Summit will speak about the importance of keeping people at the center, because without that, we risk pursuing climate solutions individually.”
Dr. Evelyn Wang, Vice-President for Energy and Climate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and former Director of the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), delivered the opening keynote, ‘Rethinking Energy, Water, and Food Systems to Build Well-Being.’
Dr. Evelyn Wang said: “Breakthrough innovation can help energy, water and food systems build well-being, especially under conditions of water scarcity and rapid growth that are so relevant to the UAE. Climate is a system-of-systems challenge. Energy, food, water, the built environment, healthcare, ecology and mobility are all interconnected, and the choices in one shape the outcomes of the others. Those systems now sit within the larger systems of the atmosphere, the oceans and the land.”
A high-level panel on ‘Forging Climate Solutions, Accelerating Climate Action,’ brought together Rodrigo Martins, President, European Academy of Sciences; Bill Shelander, founding venture investor of Nvidia and former White House advisor on technology transfer; Qais Al Suwaidi, Group Vice-President for Innovation and R&D, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA); Neil Wilmshurst, Chairman, ASME Foundation Executive Council and founding executive of EPRI Gulf; and Stephen Davison, Co-Founder, Higher Education Climate Network of Networks and Executive Director, Cambridge Zero, the University of Cambridge.
Professor Samuel Mao, Senior Director, Research Institute for Resource Management and Sustainability, and Conference Chair, Abu Dhabi Climate Solutions Summit 2026, said: “Climate challenges cut across disciplines, sectors and borders, and addressing them requires us to work in the same way. The Abu Dhabi Climate Solutions Summit brings together researchers, industry, policymakers, investors and young innovators to exchange expertise, build partnerships and identify practical pathways for climate action. We want the connections established here to continue well beyond the Summit and contribute to solutions with lasting impact.”
Following the opening ceremony, Day 1 featured parallel technical, youth and international sessions spanning transportation electrification, water security, sustainable food and agriculture, energy storage, climate-resilient cities, new materials, carbon capture, renewable energy, AI and climate solutions, as well as a dedicated ‘Women Scientists for Climate Solutions’ panel. International collaboration and youth engagement also featured prominently, including a Global Alliance of Universities on Climate session on the role of universities in accelerating climate action, alongside youth sessions focused on developing and pitching solutions with potential for real-world impact.
The Abu Dhabi Climate Solutions Summit 2026 continues on 9 October with technical and youth sessions across key climate priorities, before concluding the conference program with an interactive conversation on taking climate technologies from ideas to commercial solutions, hosted by Professor Samuel Mao and with pioneering venture capitalist Bill Shelander. On 10 October, the Summit will conclude with the ‘Amazon Experience – From Forest to Global Market’ hackathon and award ceremony.
