Our sustainability projects contribute to the post-COP28 effort to position the UAE as a global leader in AI-enabled decarbonization and climate mitigation. We played an active role at COP28 itself, showcasing our research at the Greening Education Hub and launching Jais Climate – the world’s first bilingual large language model (LLM) dedicated to climate and sustainability.
SDGs 2 & 6: Zero Hunger & Clean Water: Agriculture and water security
MBZUAI is involved in several projects connected to water security and food systems. For instance, the University is working with the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) to launch an AI lab focused on agricultural resilience. Potential AI use cases in agriculture include AI-guided irrigation systems, early warning models for crop disease, and smart sensors for water quality monitoring.
In preparation for the 2026 UN Water Summit in Abu Dhabi, MBZUAI has partnered with UAE-based AI71 and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) on a global initiative to enhance water security. The project will leverage artificial intelligence to develop open-source hydrological and water quality models, aiming to unify fragmented data and create a comprehensive global dataset of existing water infrastructure. This project aims to build a 4D Digital Twin framework that provides a multi-scale and transparent view of water systems, from space down to local communities, with special focus on African countries.
A team at MBZUAI has even developed an AI-powered strawberry-picking robot, which could reduce waste, enhance efficiency and productivity via round-the-clock operation, and provide data-driven farming intelligence by conducting field surveys and counting yield estimation.
MBZUAI has partnered with the University of Chicago to develop and democratize AI-powered weather forecasts for farmers in low- and middle-income countries. This collaboration is part of a broader initiative launched by the UAE and the Gates Foundation at COP28 to accelerate innovation in climate-smart agriculture and food systems.
Our researchers are also exploring how remote sensing data combined with machine learning can optimize cloud seeding operations.
SDG3 – Good Health and Well-being
Building on these efforts to improve human and environmental resilience, MBZUAI is also advancing AI applications in global health. One key partnership is with Malaria No More and Reaching the Last Mile – international health initiatives supported by the philanthropy of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE. Together, we are exploring how AI can help forecast malaria outbreaks, enabling more effective prevention strategies, smarter resource allocation, and earlier interventions in vulnerable communities.
SDG 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy: AI for Clean Energy Technologies
The university is engaged in a wide range of projects focusing on AI applications in clean energy and energy transition, all aimed at leveraging artificial intelligence to create a more sustainable and efficient energy future offering the potential to optimize operations, increase efficiency, reduce costs, and promote sustainability.
A recent collaboration between MBZUAI, IRENA, and IIT Abu Dhabi—supported by the UAE Representation at IRENA—reflects this commitment. The initiative was launched during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, where MBZUAI moderated a ministerial roundtable with senior government officials to explore how AI can accelerate the energy transition and support renewable energy adoption globally.
The University is also contributing to the development of smarter energy systems. Traditional smart grids rely on constant access to detailed user data to forecast demand – raising concerns around privacy and security. MBZUAI is researching how AI models can enable load forecasting and resource optimization without needing centralized access to sensitive data. This work is especially relevant in areas where demand is growing, and renewable sources need to be integrated more effectively.
SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities: Urban heat and resilience
Another key area of research addresses the urban heat island effect. As cities expand, many experience a sharp rise in surface temperatures, which affects livability and public health. In collaboration with IBM, MBZUAI is using satellite data and foundation models to map heat distribution across cities in the UAE and the broader region. These tools can detect localized temperature hotspots, helping planners implement effective cooling strategies such as green roofing, reflective materials, or targeted vegetation.
Early studies suggest these interventions could reduce urban temperatures by up to 3 degrees Celsius in critical zones. This approach is becoming increasingly important on a global scale, as evidenced by the current heatwave across Europe, where many countries are experiencing record-high temperatures that have in some cases led to wildfires and fatalities.
SDG 13 – Climate Action: Making AI more energy efficient
To address AI’s energy demands, we are working on various projects for both hardware and software. By analyzing and overlapping computation workflows during training, for example, we have found that we could cut energy waste by up to 39%, notably reducing carbon footprint during GPU-intensive operations. On the hardware side, techniques that compress data movement have achieved up to an eightfold reduction in energy use per operation. Together, these advances enable models to run much more efficiently, supporting strong performance while significantly lowering power requirements.
SDG 14 – Life Below Water: Marine ecosystem monitoring
We are also applying AI to support the preservation of marine ecosystems by analyzing data from satellite imagery, underwater vehicles, and oceanic sensors. Our computer vision models are being used to identify and classify marine organisms, helping to streamline biodiversity assessments and monitor ecosystem health.
As countries look for ways to meet their climate goals, the role of AI is becoming more important – a trajectory highlighted by MBZUAI’s partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to address global challenges including environmental resilience, water resources management, climate adaptation, social cohesion, and reducing inequalities.
MBZUAI is committed to supporting these critical efforts and more by providing the models, tools, and knowledge needed to make AI part of the solution.
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