H.E. Majid Al Suwaidi
CEO, Alterra
Majid Al Suwaidi, an experienced ambassador, climate change negotiator, and executive in the international energy sector, is double tenured as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the nascent Altérra climate investment fund and Director General/Special Representative (DGSR) of the COP28 Presidency. Mr. Al Suwaidi played an integral role at COP28 in helping to deliver the landmark UAE Consensus, which provides a roadmap for the transition to a clean energy and climate resilient pathway.
As the CEO of ALTÉRRA, a new catalytic climate fund launched to mobilize investment at scale to finance the new climate economy, Mr. Al Suwaidi is responsible for leading the efforts towards achieving Altérra’s goal of mobilizing US $250 billion globally by 2030 towards climate positive solutions at scale. Altérra is the world’s largest private investment vehicle for climate finance, committed to deploying $30 billion in climate investments, with focus on transforming emerging markets and developing economies.
As DGSR of COP28, Mr. Al Suwaidi is responsible for championing implementation of the COP28’s Presidency Action plan to deliver long-lasting transformational impact to advance key initiatives well beyond COP28 and help keep the goal of keeping global average temperature rise to 1.5°C within reach.
Prior to Altérra and COP28, Mr. Al Suwaidi held leading roles as UAE Ambassador to Spain, Andorra, and Vatican City; UAE Consul General in New York; and as the UAE’s Lead Negotiator on Climate Change, Energy and Sustainability in multilateral negotiations processes that led to the adoption of the Paris Agreement and of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in 2015.
Mr. Al Suwaidi earned a Master of Science in Geosciences from Simon Fraser University in Canada and a Bachelor of Science in Earth Science from Brunel University in the United Kingdom. Additionally, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic by the Government of Spain for extraordinary services as Ambassador in the promotion of international relations.