In a new mini-series previewing the upcoming UN Climate Summit (COP28)’s new focus on relief, recovery, & peace, the Director of the Middle East Program at the Wilson Center, Merissa Khurma, spoke with Peter Schwartzstein, an environmental journalist and Wilson Center Global Fellow. Schwartzstein discusses the impact of the war in Gaza on COP28 and environmental peacebuilding efforts more broadly in the region. He also talks about how we can advance the new theme of peace in COP discussions and what his hopes are for a best-case scenario coming out of the upcoming summit.