The Embassy of the State of Qatar to the United States of America, the American Chamber of Commerce and the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) organised a virtual event that shed light on the efforts of the State of Qatar to organise the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

This event was aimed at reducing carbon emissions and attracted more than 70 participants from the United States, Qatar and other regions of the world.

Sustainability Director at Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy Bodour Al-Meer, HE Chargé d'Affaires of the US Embassy in Qatar Greta C. Holtz and Director of the Global Market for Sports and Entertainment at Jacob Corporation Beau Waters participated in the virtual event.

The event was opened by US Chamber of Commerce senior vice president for Middle East and Turkey Affairs Khush Choksy's statement, during which he stressed on the importance of the growing role of the State of Qatar as a global center for sport and described Doha as being increasingly considered one of the leading sports capitals in the world. He also noted that the success of the State of Qatar in presenting a World Cup aimed at reducing carbon emissions will set a standard for similar events worldwide in the future.

The Chargé d'Affaires of the US Embassy in Doha Greta C. Holtz stressed on the global importance of the Qatari initiative and described the efforts exerted to present a carbon-free World Cup tournament as critically important as it provides an important example of the way in which the local efforts of the State of Qatar can transform to have a global impact.

The World Cup will provide the United States and the State of Qatar with the possibility of deepening their bilateral cooperation to confront the issue of climate change; the two countries are already participating in this effort on various fronts, and the United States is ready to further strengthen the partnership with the State of Qatar to achieve this goal, Holtz said.

For her part, Sustainability Director at Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy Bodour Al-Meer made a presentation on the State of Qatar's approach to promoting sustainability in general and specifically with regard to projects in preparation for hosting the World Cup, saying that the preparation for this event was driven in many ways by the sustainability goals.

She provided an overview of the related efforts made by the State of Qatar in five main areas - sustainable construction, air pollution, carbon neutrality, water and waste. Particularly, she stressed on the future effects of the event, noting that the State of Qatar will benefit from the related efforts over the coming generations.

The solar power plant, which entered service recently, will not only provide the World Cup facilities with electric power, but will also provide approximately 10 percent of the energy in the country in general in the future. In addition to that, these efforts have contributed to the launch of a campaign to cultivate one million tree and create a variety of green spaces in the State of Qatar, Al-Meer said.

She also highlighted the establishment of the World Carbon Council and stressed on the importance of this Council not only for the World Cup, but also beyond identifying and encouraging carbon reduction projects through the establishment of a carbon credits system; She also spoke about related sustainable building efforts.

She referred to the creation of fully or partially removable stadiums and collecting GSAS certification for all stadiums, not just in the field of construction, but also in the accompanying operational processes, as well as the efforts of the State of Qatar to increase recycling operations, noting that in some cases up to 90 percent of the generated waste was diverted from landfills.

Beau Waters from Jacob Corporation discussed the company's role as a prime contractor in this effort. He said that his company is proud to work with the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy and described the relationship with the State of Qatar as successful on many levels.

The leadership of the State of Qatar is not only innovative, but also fully committed to making the country a more sustainable place, He affirmed.

 
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