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. H.E. Dr. Al Zeyoudi is also the UAE Permanent Representative to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and was the Director of the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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 organization 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.

Food Forever is raising awareness of the importance and urgency of conserving and using agricultural biodiversity, a global issue that all national governments should contribute to addressing. I am proud to represent the UAE in leading the way with Food Forever in promoting the biodiversity of crops and livestock.