Karim Elgendy

Karim is an urban sustainability and climate consultant based in London with more than two decades of experience. His areas of expertise include developing sustainable and resilient cities and neighbourhoods, climate policy analysis, and energy transition.

His current work focuses on the Middle East and North Africa region, especially around the Eastern Mediterranean and the Gulf, but his 20 years of experience spans Europe, North America, and sub-Saharan Africa.

Karim is the founder and coordinator of Carboun, an advocacy initiative promoting sustainability in Cities of the Middle East and North Africa through research and communication.

Karim’s research interests include managing natural resources, energy transitions, and climate policy especially in Syria and the Levant, Israel and Palestine, Egypt, Turkey, and the Gulf states.

They focus on the role of urban metabolism and circularity in reducing the environmental footprint of cities and improving their climate resilience, as well as the impact of policy, economics, urbanization, planning, and urban systems on urban sustainability and resilience. 

Karim is the recipient of the 2013 Global Green Building Entrepreneurship Award from the World Green Building Council, and is a chartered member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).