Follow the link below to get a sense of the action at the Arctic Circle Abu Dhabi Forum. Videos from the Forum are available on the Arctic Circle YouTube Channel.

Arctic Circle Abu Dhabi Forum was organized in cooperation with the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) and took place in conjunction with the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. Speakers included the newly announced President of the Emirates Climate Conference - COP28 UAE, H.E. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology; Special Envoy for Climate Change; H.E. Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson, Minister of the Environment, Energy and Climate, Iceland; Chairman of Arctic Council 2019-2021; H.E. Mariam Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, UAE; H.E. Dr. Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, UAE; and Dr. Pema Gyamtsho, Director General, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) along with leaders, scientists, academics and Indigenous representatives.

The melting of the Third Pole / Himalayan glaciers carries water security implications for 1.65 billion people. The region will experience profound ecological and geophysical transformations as a result of climate change. As outlined in the 2019 Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment, the scope of these consequences is not fully understood and scientific data is lacking.

Scientific efforts to understand these phenomena require access to data across borders. The inspiring history of international scientific cooperation in the Arctic, including on glaciological research, is of great significance to the future study of the Third Pole / Himalayan glaciers. The past two decades of Arctic dialogue can offer valuable guiding principles for improving the shared understanding of the glaciers themselves, as well as the consequences of their melting, such as impacts on downstream ecosystems, energy production, agriculture and industry.

At the Arctic Circle Abu Dhabi Forum the relevance of the experience of international collaboration in the Arctic to the future of the glaciers in the Third Pole / Himalayan region and the water resources of Asia will be addressed. The leadership of the United Arab Emirates in clean energy research and investment will be highlighted within an exploration of the contributions of the renewable energy transition to the global fight against climate change.