His Excellency Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi

His Excellency Dr. Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi was appointed as the Minister of Climate Change and Environment for the United Arab Emirates in February 2016. Previously, His Excellency served as Permanent Representative of the UAE to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), 2010-2017. He also was the Director of the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2010- 2016.

H.E. Dr. Al Zeyoudi first began his career as a reservoir engineer at the Abu Dhabi Marine Oil Company and then moved to Masdar, where we worked on advancing renewable energy technologies and solutions. H.E. Dr. Al Zeyoudi played a major role in the UAE’s successful campaign in 2009 in host IRENA, the first international organisation dedicated to renewable energy.

In 2015, Dr. Al Zeyoudi was awarded the first Gulf Cooperation Council Prize for Excellence in recognition of his pioneering efforts in renewable energy. He is a member of several committees, including the ‏Emirates Green Development Council, as well as Audit and Selection Committees of Zayed Future Energy Prize.

H. E. Dr. Al Zeyoudi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering from the Tulsa University, an MBA from the New York Institute of Technology, MSc in Project Management from the British University in Dubai, and a PhD in Strategy, Programme & Project Management from SKEMA Business School in France, for which he received the Sheikh Rashid Award for Scientific Excellence for holders of doctorate degrees.