Neeshad Shafi

Neeshad Shafi is a nonresident fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs. He is an award-winning environmentalist with experience analyzing global climate policy, strategy, and advocacy with a focus on the Gulf and Middle East. He is also an expert on social movements and the political dimensions of environmental politics in the Arab region.

Shafi was previously a nonresident fellow with the Wilson Center and Middle East Institute (MEI). He co-founded the Arab Youth Climate Movement Qatar and Arab Youth 4 COP, which continue to mobilize regional action on climate challenges.

He was named in the “Apolitical List” of the 100 Most Influential People in Climate Policy in 2019 and 2022. He was also recognized among the ‘Middle East’s Most Creative People in Business’ by Fast Company in 2023 under the ‘Saving the Planet’ category. In 2024, he was listed in the Climate 100 List by The Independent, a UK-based media outlet.

Shafi’s writings have been published with the World Economic Forum Agenda, Climate Policy and Politics in the Middle East by Bloomsbury, MEI, The Cairo Review, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, among others. His analysis has been featured in various media outlets including Euro News, France24, Al Jazeera, and BBC.