Omar Saif

Vice President - Global Climate Finance Centre (GCFC)

Omar Saif is a Vice President at the Global Climate Finance Centre (GCFC) in Abu Dhabi, an institution he helped establish following COP28. He has been closely involved in shaping the Centre’s mandates across water, nature, climate technology, carbon markets, and capacity building, and in translating them into an operating agenda supported by delivery partners, governance structures, and a growing funding base.

His work concentrates on water and energy security. He leads GCFC’s water finance programme, developing the evidence base and structuring approaches that help make water and sanitation investment bankable, and positioning the UAE as a convening hub for water finance ahead of the 2026 UN Water Conference. On energy, he develops platforms that channel capital into clean power across frontier and emerging markets, working through the risk allocation, currency exposure, and offtake arrangements that determine whether projects reach financial close. Much of this work involves bringing sovereign investors, multilateral institutions, commercial banks, and philanthropies around the same opportunities, so that concessional and catalytic capital reaches the investments that need it most.

Prior to joining GCFC, Omar was part of the COP28 team, where he led private sector engagement in climate technology. He brings 13+ years of experience across government, consultancy, and trade promotion, having worked with EY, WSP, and Masdar Institute on projects spanning energy efficiency, net zero, smart cities, and waste management, and with the Dutch government to promote climate-tech startups and SMEs across the MENA region.

Omar holds an M.Eng. in Engineering and Public Policy from McMaster University in Canada.