Qatar has reaffirmed the need for the global community to commit to the articles of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
It has also stressed the importance of providing the needed support, whether financial or technological, to developing countries to build capacities that help them face the phenomena.
This came in the speech of the Assistant Undersecretary for Environment Affairs at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment Ahmed Mohamed al-Sada, during the second part of the high-level segment at the Climate Change Conference, currently being held in Katowice, Poland.
On the sidelines of the conference, the Ministry of Municipality and Environment organised different presentations for various entities inside and outside Qatar.
The presentations aimed at highlighting the national efforts and the State’s projects for clean and efficient energy, how to tackle climate change, decrease carbon footprint and co-operate with external entities to serve such projects in the future.
Senior Research Director for Energy at Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Dr Veronica Bermudez, presented the ways to use solar energy in Qatar. She also presented the State’s vision to diversify income and reduce reliance on non-renewable energy.
Manager of Conservation and Energy Efficiency Department at Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa), Engineer Abdul Aziz al-Hamadi, presented the corporation’s project on generating renewable energy from solar cells and its plan to rely on solar energy by more than 20% by 2030.
He revealed that Qatar has taken the lead in the region in this area and has many plans and strategies which support the preservation of the environment and reduce reliance on hydrocarbon energy.
He spoke about the electric car project in the country and the facilities offered by Kahramaa to encourage the use of such initiatives that protect the environment in Qatar.
Head of the climate change department at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment, Abdulhadi Nasser al-Marri, presented the department’s projects, the contents of the reports prepared by the department related to the UNFCCC and the link between its articles and the results of the reports which confirm that Qatar commits to the articles.
Head of pollution prevention and control department at Qatar Petroleum (QP), Yousef Ahmad al-Hussaini, presented the Al Shaheen initiative of QP, the first national services provider in Qatar’s energy sector, which is part of the Clean Development Mechanism and globally registers Qatar’s name. Al Shaheen aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Qatar.
Director at Qatar Foundation’s Health, Safety and Environment (HSSE), Mohamed Bakhamis, touched on Qatar Foundation Tram and presented a brief account of the foundation’s initiatives regarding its commitment to local and global environmental standards.
Head of Aviation Environmental Protection at Qatar Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA), Rachid Rahim, talked about carbon air compensation and mitigation plan for international aviation. He also spoke about Qatar Airways’ commitment to the global standards with regard to using best types of aircraft.
In addition, he spoke about the company’s plan to offset carbon emissions from aircraft, and Hamad International Airport’s interest in the environment and its initiatives which reduce carbon footprints in the country.
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