Applied Environmental Diplomacy: A Path Towards Peace

Sep 22, 2025 | Princeton University, Center for Policy Research on Energy and the Environment
Princeton, NJ and online
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The Middle East is a climate change hotspot. The rising temperatures and decreased rainfall are exacerbating the existing conflict, destabilizing the region and hindering peace efforts. However, climate change is also creating opportunities for regional stability and environmental cooperation, particularly in the areas of water-energy-food nexus.

Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed is the Executive Director of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies. A recognized leader in renewable energy technology and regional environmental cooperation, he sits on Israeli President Herzog’s Climate Forum, co-chairing the task force on Regional Cooperation and Security.  Dr. Abu Hamed is the recipient of the 2024 American Association for the Advancement of Science’s David and Betty Hamburg Award for Science Diplomacy and the 2025 Al-Moumin Award for Thought Leadership in Environmental Peacebuilding from the Environmental Peacebuilding Association. 

Dr. Abu Hamed first joined the Arava Institute in 2008, when he established the Arava Institute’s Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation. He left the Institute in 2013 to join the Israeli Ministry of Science’s ultimately becoming the Ministry’s Acting Chief Scientist, the highest ranking Palestinian in the Israeli government at that time. He returned to the Arava Institute in 2016 as both head of the Center for Renewable Energy and as Academic Director. Today, he is internationally recognized as a leader in regional environmental diplomacy and a sought-after speaker at international convenings including the annual United Nations COP. Under his leadership, the Arava Institute was nominated for the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize. 

Dr. Abu Hamed holds a Bachelor and a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering from Gazi University (Turkey), and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Ankara University (Turkey). He has completed two terms of postdoctoral research, one at the Environmental Science and Energy Research Department of the Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel), and the second at the University of Minnesota’s Mechanical Engineering Department Solar Energy Lab. He also holds a Master’s in Public Policy from Hebrew University. He lives in East Jerusalem with his wife and five children. 

When: September 22, 2025, 12:15 pm – 1:15 pm

Location: 300 Wallace Hall

Audience: In-person attendance for Princeton University ID holders (no RSVP req); Other guests RSVP to ccrosby@princeton.edu; Livestream on MediaCentral