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• Under the patronage of UAE President, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, ADSW 2026 featured 15 heads of state and over 400 ministers and government officials

• Held under the theme ‘The Nexus of Next: All Systems Go,’ ADSW 2026 attracted over 60,000 attendees to address sustainability challenges and deliver systems transformation

• 2026 edition strengthened ADSW’s position as world’s largest sustainability gathering, and highlighted the UAE’s clean energy leadership

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2026 concluded its largest edition with a renewed commitment to accelerate real-world solutions and drive sustainable progress.

Held under the theme ‘The Nexus of Next: All Systems Go,’ over the course of five action-packed days the world’s largest sustainability gathering challenged leaders across energy, finance, food, water and nature to rethink how these global systems connect, scale and reinforce each other.

Most ambitious ADSW ever

Fifteen heads of state and government and over 400 ministers and government officials, more than double last year’s number, convened with business and civil society leaders in Abu Dhabi from January 11-15 to advance dialogue on sustainability issues. ADSW 2026, hosted by Masdar, a global clean energy leader, attracted over 60,000 attendees during the week, 20 percent more than last year’s edition. The week featured more than 240 dedicated sessions, with over 800 speakers, addressing key trends including global energy systems transformation; food, nature and water security; and the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies.

ADSW 2026 introduced new features designed to deepen engagement, including new platforms, and AI-enabled engagement tools to capture insights and connect delegates, and showcased breakthrough clean technologies reshaping global resilience.

Delivering at scale

Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar, said:

Opening Ceremony – corridor to future

The Opening Ceremony, held on January 13 at the ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi, was attended by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, along with: H.E. Faustin-Archange Touadéra, President of the Central African Republic; H.E. Michael Randrianirina, President of Madagascar; H.E. Daniel Chapo, President of Mozambique; H.E. Lucia Witbooi; Vice President of Namibia; H.E. Bola Tinubu, President of Nigeria; H.E. Ferdinand Marcos, President of Philippines; H.E Bassirou Diomaye Faye, President of Senegal; H.E. Aleksandar Vučić, President of Serbia; H.E. Dr. Patrick Herminie, President of Seychelles; H.E. Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa; H.E. Edi Rama, Prime Minister of Albania; H.E. Judith Suminwa Tuluka, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo; H.E. Irakli Kobakhidze, Prime Minister of Georgia; H.E. Milojko Spajić, Prime Minister of Montenegro; H.E. Jamshid Khodjayev, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

UAE leadership

Dr Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Chairman of Masdar, gave the opening address for ADSW 2026, highlighting the tectonic shift in the world’s economy, driven by AI; the UAE’s leadership in providing energy to power growth; and the country’s radical approach to partnership. Dr Al Jaber hailed a new era of human progress driven by computational power and digital capability, and underpinned by energy, and emphasized the role the UAE would play in that new era as the “corridor to the future.”

Inspiring the next generation

The event concluded with the Zayed Sustainability Prize Awards Ceremony, which recognized innovative solutions developed by changemakers across six categories: Health, Food, Energy, Water, Climate Action, and Global High Schools. A total of 11 awards were given out to pioneering organizations and high schools across the world, with His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed personally presenting the winners with their awards.

Summits and Dialogues

The anchor event of ADSW 2026 was the ADSW Summit, which took place January 13-14, featuring over 100 speakers across more than 30 dedicated sessions, including keynote addresses, panel discussions and fireside chats, enabling energy, business, and technology leaders to identify impactful solutions and forge lasting partnerships. In the Leadership Segment, held on both days of the Summit, Heads of State and government addressed the most pressing challenges and opportunities in sustainable development.

The ADSW Dialogues program, held January 13-15, convened global leaders, policymakers, and industry experts, with partners including ADNOC, BlackRock, Global Climate Finance Centre, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), and the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Key Dialogues included the Next Leap, chaired by Dr Al Jaber, Larry Fink, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BlackRock, and Adebayo Ogunlesi, Chairman and CEO of GIP, which brought together global leaders to align on bankable, scalable infrastructure solutions accelerating partnerships and investment across the Global South.

Hosted by Masdar, the Next Watt dialogue convened CEOs from the largest renewable energy developers, including Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar, with key suppliers and offtakers to identify practical pathways to meet soaring electricity demand with clean, reliable power.

The Green Hydrogen Summit, held on January 15, provided a platform for key stakeholders to collaborate on accelerating the global hydrogen economy. The summit featured 28 industry leaders, addressing issues including securing demand, unlocking investment, global shipping and the state of the green hydrogen landscape.

The World Future Energy Summit, the largest event at ADSW, took place from January 13-15 at the ADNEC Centre, featuring 515 exhibiting brands and 16 country and innovation-led pavilions. Over the three days, attendees had the opportunity to join conferences led by 300-plus industry experts, explore nine exhibition halls showcasing breakthrough products and solutions and discover cutting-edge technologies through the Greenhouse startup zone, FUSE AI and the Green Hydrogen Innovation Hub.

New platforms

This year, ADSW introduced new platforms to provide greater scope to address key issues. The inaugural Global South Utilities Forum, which took place January 14, convened policymakers, developers, financiers, and off-takers from the Global South and the UAE to discuss advancing investment, innovation, and the delivery of sustainable power and water infrastructure across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. A ministerial dialogue focused on how governments are translating policy vision into bankable infrastructure, while later sessions addressed deploying technology at speed and scale, renewables, energy storage and off-grid systems, and the growing role of industrial off-takers beyond traditional utilities.

ADSW also featured the Blue Forum, convened through the partnership between Masdar and the Sino-International Entrepreneurs Federation (SIEF), ahead of the 2026 UN Water Conference in the UAE this December. Held on January 15, the event brought together leaders from government, multilateral organizations and development banks, business and civil society to unlock transformative opportunities for a water-secure future, driving technology, resilience, and sustainable growth.

Masdar: Celebrating 20 years of progress

Masdar, host of ADSW, celebrated 20 years of clean energy leadership by announcing its total renewable energy portfolio has reached 65 gigawatts (GW), up from 51GW at the start of 2025, two thirds of the way to its 2030 target of 100GW. Of the 65GW portfolio, 45GW is operational, under construction, or committed, with a further advanced pipeline of 20GW.

Masdar also made a series of announcements throughout the week, strengthening its presence in key markets including Uzbekistan, Oman and Sharjah, and expanding its footprint in Africa, with the signing of its first power purchase agreement in Angola.

Youth and Women empowerment

Held January 13-15, the Youth 4 Sustainability Forum and Youth Hub, brought together more than 3,500 young people from around the world, connecting them with 95 speakers from government, industry, and academia with initiatives such as Youth Connect and Talent Connect. The 2026 cohorts for the Y4S Future Sustainability Leaders and Sustainability Ambassadors programs were announced during the event while the last day also featured the final stages of the Out-of-Labs competition. The challenge brought together teams to showcase AI-enabled solutions addressing real-world challenges spanning technology and sustainability.

Held under the theme, “Inclusive Pathways for Transformative Growth,” the annual WiSER Forum took place on January 14, bringing together over 120 influential figures to advance dialogue on women’s leadership in sustainability and inclusive development. The forum focused on inclusive finance, policy and governance reform, scaling innovation, advancing skills for the future of work, redefining leadership norms, and strengthening inclusive foresight to build long-term resilience.

Partner events

ADSW 2026 kicked off with the 16th annual International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Assembly, which took place January 11-12, and was attended by over 1,500 delegates, including ministers, government officials, CEOs and partners from across the world. Decision-makers and leaders discussed key issues related to energy transformation, inclusive development, and long-term resilience in both developing and developed countries, amongst other topics.

The Global Climate Finance Centre Annual Meeting was held January 15, in collaboration with Masdar, connecting over 280 professionals with more than 20 speakers, and facilitating dialogue on advancing finance for climate action.

Key ADSW 2026 partners included the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, Global South Utilities, ADNOC, World Wide Technology (WWT), Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), EMSTEEL, Aldar, Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA), TotalEnergies, and the Department of Municipalities and Transport.

For more information, please visit http://www.adsw.ae

The UAE’s abundant solar energy resources will enable the country to maintain a leadership role in hydrogen production, a senior Masdar executive told Investment Monitor. 

“Abu Dhabi and the UAE [more generally] have been leading players in renewable clean energy and will now be in alternative fuel and hydrogen,” Mohammad Abdelqader El Ramahi, Director, Asset Management and Technical Services, Masdar, told the publication in an interview. “Because of the solar abundance and the high radiation of solar here in the Middle East, green hydrogen will be produced at the lowest cost possible internationally. That is why the chance for us to play a primary role in hydrogen generally, and green hydrogen particularly, is very high.”

In January, Masdar signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, Etihad Airways, Lufthansa Group, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Siemens Energy, and Marubeni Corporation to support the development of Abu Dhabi’s green hydrogen economy. The initiative aims to establish a demonstrator plant at Masdar City, Abu Dhabi’s flagship sustainable urban development community, to explore the development of green hydrogen, sustainable fuels and e-kerosene production for transport, shipping, and aviation.

“Because of the solar abundance and the high radiation of solar here in the Middle East, green hydrogen will be produced at the lowest cost possible internationally. That is why the chance for us to play a primary role in hydrogen generally, and green hydrogen particularly, is very high,” El Ramahi told Investment Monitor. 

The UAE has formed a ‘hydrogen alliance’ between national oil company ADNOC, Mubadala Investment Company, owner of Masdar, and ADQ. Badr Al-Olama, executive director of UAE clusters at Mubadala, said at an online event in March that green hydrogen production could reach 530 million tonnes by 2050, displacing 10.5 billion barrels of oil. 

Masdar’s investments abroad are informing domestic clean energy development in the UAE, El Ramahi also said during the interview with Investment Monitor. He cited Masdar’s co-investment in the Batwind project in Scotland, the world’s first offshore wind farm with battery storage, which is helping Masdar to develop utility-scale storage solutions. 

Masdar also plans to develop domestic wind farms using the latest class three turbines that are able to harness electricity, even from low wind speeds, Investment Monitor said.