On Tuesday, October 4th from 11:00 am – 12:15 pm ET, the Atlantic Council’s empowerME Initiative held a virtual event prior to COP 27 in Egypt, to discuss the economic and social impact of climate change on MENA countries and the linkages between climate action, economic growth, poverty, and inequality in the region.

This event featured keynote speaker United Nations President of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Columbia University Director of the Center for Sustainable Development Jeffrey Sachs alongside Arab Republic of Egypt Ministry of Environment Minister and COP27 Ministerial Coordinator and Envoy H.E. Yasmine Fouad, COP 28 UAE Organizing Team Executive Vice President Ambassador Majid Al-Suwaidi, United Nations Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP27 and Special Envoy on Financing 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Mahmoud Mohieldin, United Nations Development Special Advisor to the Administrator Mourad Wahba, and The Rockefeller Foundation Deputy Chief of Staff and Vice President Eric Pelofsky. The conversation was moderated by empowerME Initiative Director Racha Helwa.

Keynote speaker

Jeffrey Sachs
President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development
Columbia University

Featuring

H.E. Yasmine Fouad
Minister of Environment and COP27 Ministerial Coordinator and Envoy
Arab Republic of Egypt

Ambassador Majid Al-Suwaidi
Executive Vice President
COP 28 UAE Organizing Team

Mahmoud Mohieldin
Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP27 and Special Envoy on Financing 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
United Nations

Mourad Wahba
Special Advisor to the Administrator
United Nations Development Program

Eric Pelofsky
Deputy Chief of Staff and Vice President
The Rockefeller Foundation

Moderated by

Racha Helwa
Director, empowerME Initiative
Atlantic Council

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empowerME

empowerME at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East is shaping solutions to empower entrepreneurs, women, and youth and building coalitions of public and private partnerships to drive regional economic integration, prosperity, and job creation.

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