Investing in Future Communities

in collaboration with World Eco-civilization Community Foundation
Event
Session Type
Conference
Room number
Al Khor Tent
25 October 2026
16:30 - 18:00 Doha
Asia/Qatar

The session explores how investment can help build communities that are resilient, inclusive and in harmony with the natural world.

This session centers around the concept of ecological civilization and its implications for the future of human settlements, development and investment. Moving beyond conventional models of urbanization and industrial development, ecological civilization seeks to harness science, technology and innovation to create communities in which people and nature can thrive together, while respecting cultural diversity and strengthening long-term social and environmental resilience.

Bringing together thought leaders, practitioners, policymakers and investors, the session will examine both the vision and its practical application. It will consider how pioneering models and pilot communities can generate evidence, inform policy and demonstrate new approaches to sustainable development — and what forms of investment, partnerships and institutional frameworks are needed to bring successful models to scale.

Panel 1: What Is Ecological Civilization? 
Defining ecological civilization and ecological civilization communities, exploring their core principles and considering why they matter for humanity’s future.

Panel 2: From Vision to Practice
Examining how ecological civilization communities can move from isolated experiments to scalable models, and how investment, technology, policy and international cooperation can help turn a shared vision into a global movement.

Speaker(s)

Co-Initiator and Former Director of Innovation and Investments of Masdar Initiative, Chairman Founder of Gaia Green Energy Group
Founder and CEO of Plan A, Co-founder of Greentech Alliance
Director, World Food Programme COPx
Secretary General, The Club of Rome
Former Lead Consultant of Chime Group (UK), Chairperson of the World Ecological Civilization Foundation, and Board Member of the Aurora Borealis Foundation
Director of the Carbon Neutrality Strategy Research Center, Institutes of Science and Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Advisory Board, Aurora Borealis Foundation
President, Vanderlinde Foundation
Deputy Director, Center for China and Globalization
Director of the Institute of Resources and Environmental Policy, Development Research Center of the State Council
Chief Impact & Movement Officer, B Lab