EU-GCC Resilient Green Transition Webinar Series 2026
Webinar 3
Critical Infrastructure Resilience for Energy and Water Systems in the GCC
Risk Preparedness, Continuity and Security of Essential Services
Date: Wednesday, 7 October 2026
Time: 10:00–11:30 Brussels / 11:00–12:30 Riyadh / 12:00–13:30 UAE
Format: Online webinar (WEBEX)
About the Webinar
Energy and water systems are the backbone of the GCC’s green transition. As the region expands renewable energy, desalination, smart networks and essential infrastructure, the question is no longer only how to build more — but how to make these systems more resilient, secure and able to keep operating during disruption.
Building on the first two webinars in the EU-GCC Resilient Green Transition Webinar Series 2026, this third session will focus on the critical infrastructure that keeps energy and water services functioning under stress.
The webinar will bring together European and Gulf perspectives to discuss how governments, regulators, utilities and infrastructure operators can strengthen preparedness, continuity and resilience across interconnected energy and water systems.
Why This Webinar?
Across the GCC, energy and water systems are becoming more interconnected, more digitalised and more exposed to overlapping risks.
Extreme heat is increasing demand for electricity and cooling. Desalination remains central to water security and depends on reliable power supply. At the same time, climate pressures, operational disruptions, supply-chain constraints and wider security risks have highlighted the importance of protecting essential services.
This webinar will explore what critical infrastructure resilience means in practice for the GCC, and where EU-GCC cooperation can support more secure, reliable and future-ready systems.
What Will Be Discussed?
The discussion will focus on four practical themes:
✓ Energy-water interdependence and the risks created when power and water systems are planned or managed in isolation.
✓ Risk preparedness in a changing regional context, including climate pressures, operational disruption, physical security risks and digital dependencies.
✓ Continuity of essential services, including redundancy, emergency response, strategic storage, control centres and faster recovery.
✓ EU-GCC cooperation, including knowledge exchange, regulatory dialogue, utility-to-utility cooperation, research collaboration and capacity building.
Bringing Together European and Gulf Expertise
The webinar will create space for a practical exchange between European and GCC experts working on critical infrastructure resilience, energy and water systems, emergency preparedness, grid operations, desalination, utilities and regional coordination.
The session will not focus narrowly on cybersecurity. Instead, it will look at critical infrastructure resilience more broadly, including climate, operational, physical, digital and security-related risks as part of one wider resilience challenge.
Who Should Attend?
This webinar is intended for:
- Government officials and policymakers
- EU Delegations and European Commission services
- Energy and water regulators
- Electricity and water utilities
- Grid, transmission and infrastructure operators
- Desalination and water-sector stakeholders
- Research institutions and technical experts
- Private-sector companies working on infrastructure, resilience, energy and water
- Stakeholders involved in the green transition in Europe and the GCC
Expected Outcomes
Participants will gain a clearer understanding of the main risks facing critical energy and water infrastructure in the GCC, and the practical measures that can help keep essential services running during disruption.
The discussion will also help identify areas where EU-GCC cooperation can add value, including risk assessment, continuity planning, infrastructure stress-testing, regulatory exchange, utility-to-utility dialogue and regional coordination.
Insights from the webinar will contribute to the wider EU-GCC Resilient Green Transition Webinar Series 2026 and help inform future dialogue on environmental resilience, green infrastructure investment and practical cooperation between Europe and the Gulf region.
Join Us
Join us for the third webinar in the EU-GCC Resilient Green Transition Webinar Series 2026 as we explore how Europe and the GCC can strengthen the resilience, preparedness and continuity of critical energy and water systems.
Register now and save the date.