As two of the largest and most influential nations in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and Iran play critical roles in shaping regional relations and policies, including those related to climate change.

The U.S. and Europe are poorly positioned compared to China to engage in diplomacy to bridge the Middle East’s security divides. But there is a diplomatic initiative they could pursue that would reassert their relevance and address a key issue that is in desperate need of attention in the region: the threat of climate change.