 IFI and The Lebanese Center for Policy Studies (LCPS) hosted a webinar on “Fossil Fuel Subsidies: The Harm They Do and the Challenges of Removing Them” on March 23. The webinar tackled the persistence of fossil fuels in the world, their negative impact on the environment, and the societal and political challenges that arise from removing them. The webinar featured Neil McCulloch, Economist and Director of The Policy Practice, with IFI Associate Fellows Carole Nakhle and Marc Ayoub as discussants, and moderated by Ali Taha, Researcher at LCPS.
Panel Discussion: “International Refugee Law and Policy in Lebanon: Past, Present and Potentials"3/16/2023
 IFI, in collaboration with the University of Oslo, organized a panel discussion titled “International Refugee Law and Policy in Lebanon: Past, Present and Potentials” on March 16. The discussion explored the role of the international refugee regime’s norms and institutions in protecting refugees in Lebanon, Lebanon’s influence in developing such norms globally and regionally, as well as the consequences of non-ratification of the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol for the protection of asylum seekers and refugees.
IFI, in collaboration with the Embassy of Canada in Lebanon held a panel discussion on March 9 tackling the impacts of Lebanese emigration. The event gathered academics and experts to discuss the causes and consequences of Lebanese emigration in recent years.
 IFI’s Climate Change & Environment (CC&E) Program, in collaboration with UNDP Lebanon and the Ministry of Environment held a technical discussion titled “From Global to Local: Climate Change Projections and their Impact on Lebanon’s Vulnerable Sectors” on March 7, during which the results of Lebanon’s Fourth National Communication on Climate Change were presented.
 On the occasion of International Women’s Day, IFI and the Swedish Dialogue Institute for the Middle East and North Africa hosted a webinar on “How Inclusive is Peacebuilding in the Digital Age?” The webinar took place on March 6 and explored ways technology could bridge gender disparities in the context of peacebuilding. The webinar featured Keynote Speaker Susanne Mikhail, UN Women Regional Director; Aya Bdeir, Entrepreneur and Social Activist; Nadine Weheba, Associate Director of the Access to Knowledge for Development Center at AUC; Nadim Houry, Executive Director of the Arab Reform Initiative, and Hala Bugaighis, Libyan Researcher and Human Rights Activist. The discussion was moderated by Charlotta Sparre, Ambassador and Director of the Swedish Dialogue Institute for the MENA, and Karma Ekmekji, IFI Associate Fellow and UN Women Mediation Advisor. The discussion concluded with reflections from Murielle Abi Akar, Master’s Student in Crisis and Security Management with a Specialization in Cybersecurity Governance.
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