*Minister addresses COP26 session
Qatar attaches great importance to the risks of climate change and has spared no effort in supporting the global response to address climate change by hosting the 18th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP18/CMP8) in 2012, and the launch of the initiative to establish the Global Dryland Alliance, HE the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Sheikh Dr Faleh bin Nasser bin Ahmed bin Ali al-Thani told a session of the COP26, Glasgow, Scotland.
The Global Dryland Alliance is one of the international mechanisms aimed at confronting climate change.
In his speech Wednesday , HE the Minister said that Qatar during the UN Climate Action Summit 2019 , contributed $100mn to support small island states and least developed countries to deal with climate change, in addition to directing the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) to continue mobilizing support to address climate change and promote green growth in these countries.
HE the Minister explained that climate change is a national priority for Qatar, as it has set bold and realistic ambitions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in all sectors and it is committed to achieving its goals. He added that a specialized Ministry for Environment and Climate Change has recently been established to ensure continuous and systematic attention and implement future plans.
He noted that Qatar continues to invest in low-carbon technologies such as carbon capture and sequestration and solar energy and will start producing electricity from solar energy for the first time in the first half of 2022, adding that it aspires to double the use of solar power plants by 2030. Qatar is also examining the best ways to develop and use other clean fuels such as hydrogen.
He pointed out that Qatar contributes to supporting the transition to low-carbon energy by continuing and increasing the export of natural gas, which plays a key role in reducing dependence on high-carbon fuels, adding that Qatar is working in partnership with many countries around the world in this field.
HE Sheikh Dr Faleh explained that Qatar, in conjunction with the expansion of its LNG production capabilities, is working to remove more carbon from the gas production chain, through the largest carbon sequestration facility in the Middle East and North Africa, which has been operating for several years with an annual capacity of 2.5mn tons of carbon dioxide, adding that Qatar aims to expand the facility to nine million tons per year by 2030.
He pointed out that natural gas, along with the sequestering carbon technology, is part of practical solutions and contributes to dealing with the intermittency of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy.
HE the Minister affirmed Qatar's commitment to more global environmental efforts by planting one million trees before the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which is a source of pride for Qatar as the first carbon-neutral World Cup. The state also announced that it will plant ten million trees by 2030 to complete these efforts.
Looking beyond reducing greenhouse gas emissions, he said Qatar has worked to develop a comprehensive environmental strategy, as the concern for the environment is deeply rooted in its heritage , adding that the new environmental strategy is based on a vision to achieve harmony and balance between protecting the environment, economic growth, and social development.
He noted that Qatar's environmental strategy consists of five main pillars: reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants, enhancing the abundance of biodiversity, establishing sustainable water management, improving waste management, building a circular economy, and enhancing land-use productivity, explaining that these pillars will be supported by detailed objectives and initiatives that have a realistic path to implementation.
The minister expressed his aspiration that the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5), which will be hosted by Qatar from Jan. 23 to Jan. 27, 2022, will constitute an opportunity to address the many challenges that these countries face in addressing climate change, as it has serious repercussions that undermine the ability of least developed countries to achieve sustainable development goals.
He called to establish strong partnerships between the public and private sectors globally, which Qatar considers vital to find quick and effective solutions to face the challenges of climate change and provide a cleaner and more reliable transitional energy for all people.
He said that this includes the development of innovative and low-carbon technologies, noting that the lessons learned from the last two years provide a perspective on what is possible when everyone works together in the face of global crises, while the international community here showed a renewed desire during this week, and everyone should stand together to find a common and balanced path for a better tomorrow for all.
In this context, he indicated that Qatar is a party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and ratified both the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, and provided confirmation of its international obligations, the nationally determined contributions in accordance with UNFCCC, which reflects the ambition that Qatar seeks to achieve in the field of reducing greenhouse emissions by 25% by 2030.
In a related context, HE the Minister stressed that the road to addressing climate change issues is still long and that achieving the commitments made requires international and regional cooperation, as the climate knows no borders between countries, adding that everyone lives on the same planet and future generations face the same fate.
The Global Dryland Alliance is one of the international mechanisms aimed at confronting climate change.
In his speech Wednesday , HE the Minister said that Qatar during the UN Climate Action Summit 2019 , contributed $100mn to support small island states and least developed countries to deal with climate change, in addition to directing the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) to continue mobilizing support to address climate change and promote green growth in these countries.
HE the Minister explained that climate change is a national priority for Qatar, as it has set bold and realistic ambitions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in all sectors and it is committed to achieving its goals. He added that a specialized Ministry for Environment and Climate Change has recently been established to ensure continuous and systematic attention and implement future plans.
He noted that Qatar continues to invest in low-carbon technologies such as carbon capture and sequestration and solar energy and will start producing electricity from solar energy for the first time in the first half of 2022, adding that it aspires to double the use of solar power plants by 2030. Qatar is also examining the best ways to develop and use other clean fuels such as hydrogen.
He pointed out that Qatar contributes to supporting the transition to low-carbon energy by continuing and increasing the export of natural gas, which plays a key role in reducing dependence on high-carbon fuels, adding that Qatar is working in partnership with many countries around the world in this field.
HE Sheikh Dr Faleh explained that Qatar, in conjunction with the expansion of its LNG production capabilities, is working to remove more carbon from the gas production chain, through the largest carbon sequestration facility in the Middle East and North Africa, which has been operating for several years with an annual capacity of 2.5mn tons of carbon dioxide, adding that Qatar aims to expand the facility to nine million tons per year by 2030.
He pointed out that natural gas, along with the sequestering carbon technology, is part of practical solutions and contributes to dealing with the intermittency of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy.
HE the Minister affirmed Qatar's commitment to more global environmental efforts by planting one million trees before the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which is a source of pride for Qatar as the first carbon-neutral World Cup. The state also announced that it will plant ten million trees by 2030 to complete these efforts.
Looking beyond reducing greenhouse gas emissions, he said Qatar has worked to develop a comprehensive environmental strategy, as the concern for the environment is deeply rooted in its heritage , adding that the new environmental strategy is based on a vision to achieve harmony and balance between protecting the environment, economic growth, and social development.
He noted that Qatar's environmental strategy consists of five main pillars: reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants, enhancing the abundance of biodiversity, establishing sustainable water management, improving waste management, building a circular economy, and enhancing land-use productivity, explaining that these pillars will be supported by detailed objectives and initiatives that have a realistic path to implementation.
The minister expressed his aspiration that the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5), which will be hosted by Qatar from Jan. 23 to Jan. 27, 2022, will constitute an opportunity to address the many challenges that these countries face in addressing climate change, as it has serious repercussions that undermine the ability of least developed countries to achieve sustainable development goals.
He called to establish strong partnerships between the public and private sectors globally, which Qatar considers vital to find quick and effective solutions to face the challenges of climate change and provide a cleaner and more reliable transitional energy for all people.
He said that this includes the development of innovative and low-carbon technologies, noting that the lessons learned from the last two years provide a perspective on what is possible when everyone works together in the face of global crises, while the international community here showed a renewed desire during this week, and everyone should stand together to find a common and balanced path for a better tomorrow for all.
In this context, he indicated that Qatar is a party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and ratified both the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, and provided confirmation of its international obligations, the nationally determined contributions in accordance with UNFCCC, which reflects the ambition that Qatar seeks to achieve in the field of reducing greenhouse emissions by 25% by 2030.
In a related context, HE the Minister stressed that the road to addressing climate change issues is still long and that achieving the commitments made requires international and regional cooperation, as the climate knows no borders between countries, adding that everyone lives on the same planet and future generations face the same fate.
