The World Future Energy Summit 2026 kicks off in Abu Dhabi next January

Abu Dhabi, November 13, 2026: The World Future Energy Summit 2026 will kick off in Abu Dhabi from January 13 to 15, with Masdar hosting the largest and most distinguished session of the summit as part of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week activities.

The summit is the most influential event in the Middle East to promote the use of renewable energy, clean technology, and build a sustainable future. It has also become a global platform that connects sustainability supporters from leading global companies, government agencies, academic institutions, and non-governmental organizations.

The eighteenth session of the summit will be held at the ADNEC Center in Abu Dhabi, and is expected to attract record numbers of attendees, exhibitors, speakers and government partners.

Leading international organizations such as the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the European Hydrogen Council are also hosting dedicated events during the summit.

The demand for switching to clean energy has reached record levels throughout the region. In this context, the UAE pledged to invest US$54 billion in renewable energy projects by the end of the decade, and raised US$83 billion to finance climate-related clean technology solutions during COP28, in addition to another US$30 billion through the new Altera Fund.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has also allocated US$270 billion to support its ambitious targets in the field of renewable energy, and has also committed to providing nearly US$200 billion for climate action within the framework of initiatives emanating from the Saudi Green Initiative.

The 2026 session of the summit focuses on how to transform these commitments into tangible solutions, in light of the growing investment trend.

The summit will host a group of exhibitions, conferences and innovation centres, which bring together policymakers, investors, innovators and sector leaders to strengthen partnerships, disseminate technology and expand the scope of financing for clean energy projects.

Dr. Lamia Fawaz, Executive Director of Corporate Identity and Strategic Initiatives at Masdar, said that the World Future Energy Summit, as a pivotal event within Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, brings together the global energy system to conclude partnerships and conclude deals. The summit will bring together leaders from the government, energy, technology and finance sectors, to stimulate the process of implementing effective projects and constructive partnerships that face the most prominent challenges of the current time, as well as harnessing the power of artificial intelligence and innovation to develop scalable climate solutions.

This year’s edition of the summit will witness the addition of new specialized areas, and the launch of dialogue tracks designed to highlight transformative technologies and promising market opportunities.

Among the updates is the launch of the Fuse AI area, a unique exhibition space that coincides with a two-day conference dedicated to applications of artificial intelligence in the fields of clean energy, smart cities, and confronting the effects of climate change, while more than 40 companies confirmed their participation in the event, displaying solutions that use artificial intelligence to enhance the stability of the electricity grid, integrate renewable energy sources, and improve climate modelling.

The new feature highlights the growing efforts of the most prominent countries in the Middle East to pioneer the field of artificial intelligence, as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other countries are pumping billions into artificial intelligence-based data centers and supporting infrastructure, based on their keenness to benefit from the ability of these technologies to provide the requirements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and promote economic diversification.

The startup platform at the summit has also been redesigned under the name The Greenhouse, which hosts more than 50 startups from the clean energy, mobility, water, and climate technology sectors, allowing these companies to connect directly with investors and partners.

This platform is an extension of Clix, a forum for exchanging innovations in the field of climate, where the brightest thinkers from around the world address the biggest challenges of sustainability and climate change.

The World Future Energy Summit will witness the holding of Greenpeace Cinema for the first time, in cooperation with Greenpeace Middle East, providing a creative space to highlight pressing environmental issues through performances that rely on narrative style and visual impact.

For her part, Ghawa Al-Nakat, Executive Director of Greenpeace Middle East and North Africa, said that confronting the urgent climate crisis requires taking practical measures, so Greenpeace Middle East and North Africa is keen to launch initiatives that bring about tangible change, cooperate with actors in the field of policy development and at the sector level, and work with various societies to transform commitment into reality, noting their intention this year to organize a half-day conference on the sidelines of the World Future Energy Summit, to discuss practical solutions to achieve a just and sustainable transformation in the field of climate change. Energy.

She added that we seek to go beyond the concept of awareness to link policy objectives with human stories, which helps us find appropriate solutions.

Creative spaces, such as Greenpeace Cinema, support these efforts by linking theory and practice, and strengthening regional voices seeking solutions to the climate crisis. These platforms ensure tangible impact through constructive dialogues.

The Carbon Forward event, which will be held at the World Future Energy Summit site, returns after the success it achieved in Abu Dhabi last year.

This pioneering event aims to help all stakeholders in the public and private sectors gain a better understanding of the risks and opportunities available when dealing with the issue of climate change.

The World Future Energy Summit is being organized at an important stage in which the sector is witnessing record levels of inflow of investments in the field of low-carbon technologies, the value of which exceeded 386 billion US dollars during the first half of 2025 alone.

This year’s session is also full of many national pavilions and exhibitions for emerging companies, in addition to specialized conferences and innovation centers, which provides a leading regional platform to highlight global ambitions in the field of climate, and provide the appropriate conditions to achieve these ambitions.

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