Qatar will soon implement 35 environmental initiatives, identified by the National Action Plan for Climate Change, in a bid to accelerate the process to achieve country's greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets, Minister of Environment and Climate Change H E Sheikh Dr. Faleh bin Nasser bin Ahmed Al Thani has said.
Qatar’s National Environment and Climate Change Strategy, launched in October 2021, aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 25% by 2030, enhance ambient air quality standards and update limit values by 2024 among other targets. The Minister was speaking to media on the sidelines of an event on ‘Qatar’s Climate Leadership and Road to COP27’ held in Doha yesterday.
The 2022 UN Climate Change Conference, known as COP27, will take place from November 7 to 18, 2022, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
The event was organised by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change in coordination with Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI).
Minister of Municipality, H E Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie; Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Climate Change and Sustainability, H E Bader Omar Ismail Al Dafa; and a number of officials and guests attended the event. “The office of GGGI has been launched officially in Doha. Five projects about protecting environment and climate change will be implemented in Qatar during the next three years. The projects will focus on addressing climate change, natural reserves, air quality and ecosystem,” said the Minister.
Regarding Qatar's commitment to hosting a carbon-neutral FIFA World Cup, the Minister said all tournament stadiums will be powered by solar energy.
“The stadiums have been built using 40 percent of recycled materials, which is a great example of sustainability,” he said, adding that a power plant with the capacity of 800 MW will start production soon and the project will be expanded to add another 800 MW in coming period.
Minister of Environment and Climate Change H E Sheikh Dr. Faleh bin Nasser bin Ahmed Al Thani (second right); Minister of Municipality H E Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie (third right); and other dignitaries and officials attending the event yesterday.
“Environmentally friendly mode of transport such as metro, electric vehicles and electric buses will also be provided to fans during the World Cup,” said the Minister.
Addressing the event, Minister of Environment and Climate Change said opening of GGGI office shows Qatar’s interest in the issues of green growth, sustainability and climate change.
“Climate change issue is a national priority for Qatar. During the past year, ambitious measures were taken to achieve the Qatar National Vision 2030 in protecting the environment, green growth and limiting the effects of climate change. We also strive to reach the highest levels of investment in low-carbon technologies such as the use of solar energy and carbon sequestration,” said the Minister.
He said the Ministry was also keen to prepare a cooperation programme with GGGI to support climate resilience and green growth planning and policies.
“The programme will be implemented in Qatar over a period of 3 years from 2022 until 2024.”
Speaking at the same event, Director-General, GGGI, Dr. Frank Reinoud Rijsberman, said that ahead of the World Cup, Qatar has successfully transformed not only Doha’s beautiful skyline but also strengthened its vital infrastructure and institutional capacity for future growth and prosperity.
He said it was encouraging to see sustainability increasingly at the heart of major events and projects that the nation is pursuing, including the World Cup, the Doha Metro, Education City and Msheireb Downtown Doha.
A roundtable discussion on ‘Qatar’s Climate Leadership’ was also held at the event. The Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Climate Change and Sustainability; Director of Meteorological Department Abdullah Al Mannai; and Dr. Frank Reinoud Rijsberman participated in the discussion.