Environment ministry underlines need for more effort to mitigate climate change

HE the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Sheikh Dr Faleh bin Nasser bin Ahmed bin Ali al-Thani has underlined the need for more effort to mitigate climate change and its challenges facing countries around the world as well as the accompanying impacts that threaten economies, ecosystems, and way of life.
At the opening of the 3rd International Conference on Sustainable Energy-Water-Environment Nexus in Desert Climates (ICSEWEN'23), which is organised by the Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU)'s Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), HE Sheikh Dr Faleh said that the challenges arising from managing the nexus between sustainable energy, water and the environment in desert climates such as the Gulf region are more complex than in other regions, as they rely on desalination for drinking water from the sea, which is economically expensive and energy-intensive.
The minister expressed his hope that this conference would contribute to formulating policies that support the preservation of natural resources, implementing a number of environmental initiatives and programmes, in addition to plans aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions, and learning about the best global technologies and practices and artificial intelligence (AI) in order to invest in water sustainability and the preservation of natural resources.
HE Sheikh Dr Faleh said that organising the conference in conjunction with the Expo 2023 Doha Horticultural Exhibition confirms Qatar's commitment to achieving sustainability and supporting innovative solutions to address the climate challenges that cause desertification and threaten water, food and energy security.
He said that Qatar attaches great importance to preserving and sustaining the environment, and is currently working to implement many environmental initiatives and projects within its plan in the Qatar National Strategy for Environment and Climate Change.
He went on to say that the conference has already become a scientific knowledge platform for experts and specialists to discuss the difficult challenges facing the world and explore innovative solutions to them.
HBKU president Dr Ahmed Mujahid Omar Hasna said that the environmental challenges that the world faces today transcend all political borders, and pointed out that what is happening actually affects everyone and that no country or institution can address it alone.
He stressed the importance of combining all efforts of scientists, policymakers, and the private and governmental sectors to develop scientific research-based plans to save the world, mainly the region with a desert climate.
Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) president Essa bin Hilal al-Kuwari said that the conference is addressing vital topics related to water security, renewable energy, climate change, and sustainability, as well as the interconnection of these elements together in light of the developments and challenges facing these sectors.
He said that sustaining resources, achieving social and human development, and achieving a comfortable standard of living have always been the dream of human beings.
Most countries worked separately to achieve this development and prosperity, al-Kuwari added, but without considering the effects that result from depleting resources and negatively affecting the environment.
He said that achieving the energy, water and environment nexus requires the government and international organisations to adopt policies, strategies and initiatives which eye realising this nexus.
Al-Kuwari noted that Qatar has worked to include balance, optimal use of resources and sustainability in the Qatar National Vision 2030, adding that Kahramaa has taken upon itself the responsibility of preparing and developing planning strategies and action plans in the water and electric energy sectors.
QEERI director and co-chair of the conference, Dr Khaled Mahmoud, outlined that the world is witnessing profound changes and unprecedented transformations in local, regional and international climates as a result of global warming, adding that the situation is exacerbated by the global population explosion and increased resource consumption.
He continued that the ICSEWEN'23 is an essential platform that brings together scientists and policy makers from the region and the world, to discuss pressing challenges and pioneering developments in sustainable energy, water and environment research, with a focus on the desert climate.