10:44 am - October 15, 2026
The Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure held the first Global Energy Efficiency Alliance technical roundtable at Middle East Energy 2026, setting out an implementation agenda linking UAE governments with efficiency technology and finance.
The UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure has held the first Executive Technical Roundtable of the Global Energy Efficiency Alliance (GEEA) during Middle East Energy 2026 in Dubai, according to GCC Business News. The event brought together government officials, businesses, technology providers and financial institutions to discuss practical energy efficiency solutions, under the theme “Moving Energy Efficiency from Commitments to Action.”
The roundtable set out GEEA’s implementation agenda and gave participating companies a platform to present energy efficiency technologies, case studies and pilot projects aimed at measurable improvements. Discussions covered technology validation, joint pilot projects, financing solutions and implementation partnerships that could support wider deployment across participating countries.
Sharif Al Olama, Undersecretary for Energy and Petroleum Affairs at the ministry, said: “Through GEEA, the UAE is bringing together governments, businesses, financial institutions, and technology leaders to move from shared commitments to measurable action.” He added that the alliance’s objective is “practical: to connect governments seeking solutions with companies that can provide technologies and implementation expertise and with financial institutions that can help mobilise the investment required to deploy them.”
GEEA is led by the ministry and works to close the gap between international energy efficiency commitments and their delivery on the ground. It brings together governments, industry, financial institutions, technology providers, international organisations and academia, with work spanning policy cooperation, technical collaboration, capacity building, technology partnerships, project matchmaking and knowledge exchange.
The UAE launched GEEA at COP29 in Baku on 15 November 2024, with a goal of helping double the global rate of energy efficiency improvement by 2030. At the launch, Al Olama said the UAE would take a leading role in the alliance “by providing best practices in the fields of energy efficiency, knowledge transfer and partnership models,” with an early focus on member countries in Africa. The Dubai roundtable was GEEA’s first move from that founding commitment to a working technical programme.
The roundtable also featured GEEA’s digital platform, which lets participating governments and partners share implementation experience, technologies, policy knowledge, financing options and best practice, while matching identified needs against technical and financial capabilities. Participants discussed extending cooperation through GEEA’s technical workstreams and pilot projects, moving from technical discussion toward validation, demonstration and wider rollout across GEEA member countries.
For the UAE, the roundtable gives the ministry a convening role between efficiency technology suppliers, financiers and governments across the region. The ministry links GEEA’s outcomes to energy security, economic competitiveness, climate action and sustainable development, and the alliance’s next test is whether its pilot projects and digital matchmaking platform can turn the Dubai discussions into signed deployments.
