MENALINKS at COP30: strengthening global cooperation on smart energy and system flexibility
The 30th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP30), the world’s foremost multilateral forum for climate action under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), took place in Belém, Brazil, in November. Thousands of delegates from governments, international organisations, the private sector, and civil society gathered to assess progress under the Paris Agreement and exchange perspectives on accelerating climate-aligned action across sectors and regions.
Read more about MENALINKS at COP29 in BakuRepresenting MENALINKS, Project Director Katja Eisbrenner, Partner at Guidehouse Germany, attended COP30 to engage with global leaders, technical experts, policymakers, and development partners on key topics shaping the future of power systems and energy transitions. Her participation contributed to ongoing international dialogue on renewable integration, system flexibility, grid modernisation, and regional cooperation.
Through bilateral exchanges and participation in thematic discussions, MENALINKS contributed perspectives grounded in practical experience from its partner countries, highlighting how collaborative, regionally aligned approaches can support resilient and climate-compatible power systems.
These exchanges reflected several core values of MENALINKS’ collaborative approach:
Regional collaboration, recognising that national energy transitions benefit from shared learning, coordinated planning, and cross-border cooperation.
Innovation and knowledge exchange, linking policymakers, regulators, utilities, and technical institutions with emerging tools, pilot experiences, and international best practices.
Evidence-based policy and regulation, drawing on MENALINKS’ ongoing support to partner countries—such as recent work on smart mini-grids regulation in Egypt—to inform inclusive and forward-looking decision-making.
Read more about Egypt’s recent regulatory update in the MENALINKS Knowledge Base.
Participation at COP30 also enabled MENALINKS to strengthen relationships with international organisations and financing institutions, contributing to discussions on mobilising climate finance, supporting grid investments, and advancing just and inclusive energy transitions across the MENA region.
Looking ahead, MENALINKS will continue to engage in global climate platforms, with particular relevance as COP31 will take place in Türkiye—one of MENALINKS’ partner countries. This provides an important opportunity to further connect regional priorities with global climate dialogue and to showcase practical solutions supporting secure, flexible, and climate-aligned energy systems.
MENALINKS remains committed to ensuring that the region’s needs, opportunities, and innovations are reflected in international discussions—and to supporting partner countries in translating global ambition into concrete action.
