Photo caption: International Energy Forum (IEF) logo
The International Energy Forum (IEF) on Thursday launched “Empowering Sustainable Futures – MENA NDCs Climate Action,” a new report produced in cooperation with the Circular Carbon Economy Regional Collaboration and the Middle East Green Initiative.
As countries prepare for COP31 and the next cycle of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), this report showcases how the region is charting pathways that align economic diversification with sustainability, innovation and resilience in holistic cooperative approaches while contributing to the objectives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) framework and the Paris Agreement goals.
Drawing on official submissions to the UNFCCC, national strategies and publicly available institutional sources, the report provides an integrated overview of how countries across the Middle East and North Africa are advancing climate action through their NDCs and related implementation plans.
The report consolidates regional patterns across mitigation, adaptation and means of implementation. It examines how MENA countries are setting priorities, deploying technologies, strengthening resilience and identifying the finance, capacity, data and cooperation needed to move from ambition to delivery.
It also broadens the evidence base for a better and fuller understanding of a region often viewed primarily as an oil and gas provider. While that role remains important to global energy security, the report shows how MENA’s NDCs also reflect a wider climate and development agenda, demonstrating leadership in clean power, efficiency, hydrogen, carbon management, adaptation, water security and resilience.
The report identifies five key highlights:
MENA NDCs show a broadening climate and energy agenda.
National commitments and strategies increasingly include renewables, grid infrastructure, hydrogen, CCUS, nuclear energy, energy efficiency and low-emissions industrial development. Investment is taking place within the region through national projects and infrastructure programs, and globally through technology partnerships, supply chains, emerging trade corridors and international investment links.
MENA NDCs reflect the region’s specific development realities.
The report underlines that climate action in MENA must be understood in context. Water stress, rising temperatures, drought, desertification, rapid urbanization, uneven fiscal capacity and technical gaps all shape the pace and design of implementation. These realities make resilience, affordability and economic diversification central to the region’s climate commitments.
Clean power and efficiency are central to regional mitigation priorities.
Countries across the region are scaling clean power generation, expanding electricity grid infrastructure and embedding efficiency across industries and cities. The report points to renewable energy deployment, efficiency standards, grid modernization, storage and interconnection as important areas of progress.
Renewable Hydrogen and its derivatives, CCUS and the Circular Carbon Economy are gaining policy relevance.
The report shows growing attention to renewable hydrogen, biofuels, carbon capture, utilization and storage, and wider carbon management solutions. Progress remains uneven and depends on finance, infrastructure, regulation and technology transfer. The Circular Carbon Economy framework provides a practical structure for reducing, reusing, recycling and removing carbon while supporting national development priorities.
Delivery depends on finance, technology, data and cooperation.
Many commitments remain linked to access to finance, technology transfer, institutional capacity and stronger data systems. The report stresses that monitoring, reporting and verification, transparent investment frameworks, capacity building and regional cooperation will be essential to turn ambition into measurable progress.
Jassim Alshirawi, Secretary General of the International Energy Forum, said: “This report shows that MENA’s Nationally Determined Contributions deserve closer attention. They reflect a region working through complex energy, economic and environmental realities, while advancing practical climate action across mitigation, adaptation and implementation. The report provides a clearer picture of how national commitments are evolving, where progress is being made, and what is needed to support delivery.”
The report also finds that adaptation is an essential part of the region’s climate agenda. Water security, food systems, biodiversity, coastal protection, urban resilience, disaster risk reduction and natural sinks are increasingly reflected in national planning, alongside mitigation measures in energy and industry.
Alshirawi added: “MENA’s energy story has long been associated with oil and gas. This report does not diminish that reality, but it shows why the region’s climate and energy profile should be viewed more fully. Its NDCs point to practical action across resilience, innovation, technology, efficiency, emissions management and sustainable development.”
The report concludes that MENA is entering a critical decade for climate action. By expanding renewable energy, advancing renewable hydrogen and nuclear programs, capturing and reusing carbon, improving resource efficiency and strengthening adaptation, the region is charting pathways that align economic diversification with sustainability and resilience in holistic cooperative policy and market approaches.
About the International Energy Forum (IEF)
The International Energy Forum (IEF) is the global home of energy dialogue. Since 1991, the IEF has provided a unique platform for governments, industry and international organizations to exchange perspectives, strengthen dialogue and deepen shared understanding across an increasingly complex global energy system. Its unique broad-based reach enables engagement across the full energy landscape, including through the IEA-IEF-OPEC Trilateral Work Programme and the Joint Organizations Data Initiative, in partnership with key international and regional organizations.
Focused on energy security, market stability, sustainability and data transparency, the IEF is the world’s leading international organization of energy ministers and industry leaders. With membership spanning all six continents, IEF Ministers represent producing, consuming, and transit countries across both established and emerging energy supply chains.
Working in partnership with a wide range of government, institutional, academic, and other sectoral experts, as well as with industry, IEF focus is on advancing informed Ministerial dialogue on energy security, data transparency, and orderly, inclusive, and affordable transitions across global regions and all energy technologies.
A neutral and inclusive institution, the IEF convenes Ministerial meetings, undertakes thought-leader roundtables, issues analytical reports, and supports data-driven analyses that contribute to improved understanding of global energy market dynamics and emerging risks.
