The Gulf Arab countries are on course to experience some of the worst effects of climate change, threatened by rising sea levels, urbanization, desertification, and reliance on fossil fuel extraction. Since 2006, Bahrain has promulgated an array of environmental and economic policies to address these challenges, and its Economic Vision 2030 aims to accelerate the country’s diversification away from oil and gas both for environmental and economic reasons. Under the Paris Climate Accords, Bahrain has committed to projects on energy efficiency, carbon capture, renewable energy, water resources, fortification of coast lines, and biodiversity, among others.

What are Bahrain’s greatest climate-related challenges? How is the kingdom mitigating these challenges and implementing its national plans and commitments under the Paris Climate Accords? How is Bahrain balancing its needs for environmental action, economic performance, and diversification away from oil and gas? What is the level of cooperation between the United States and Bahrain on climate-related issues and are the two countries coordinating their approaches?

AGSIW hosted a conversation with H.E. Mohamed bin Mubarak Bin Daina, Bahrain’s special envoy for climate affairs and chief executive of its Supreme Council for Environment, to address these questions.