HE the Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Climate Change and Sustainability, ambassador Badr Omar Ismail al-Dafa, on Tuesday inaugurated the 'Blue Talks' seminar.
The event was held in co-operation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Portugal and Kenya embassies.
The seminar was held at the Qatar National Library, in preparation for the UN Ocean Conference for 2022, which will be held in Lisbon at the end of this month.
The seminar was attended by Charge d'Affaires of the Portugal embassy in Qatar, Manuel Gomes Samuel; Charge d'Affaires of the Kenya embassy in Qatar, Washington Oloo; a number of heads and members of the accredited diplomatic corps, experts, academics, researchers and activists in the field of environment and climate change.
Addressing the seminar, HE al-Dafa thanked the two embassies for co-operating in organising talks in the field of clean environment in order to prepare the ground for the United Nations Ocean Conference for 2022.
He said "our oceans are facing major threats such as pollution, destruction of aquatic life and a significant decrease in fish stocks due to climate change."
He pointed to the importance of the ocean's role in protecting against the worst effects of climate change by absorbing more than 90% of global warming that appeared in the past 50 years, noting that about 8mn tonnes of plastic waste seeps into the oceans each year.
HE al-Dafa pointed out that humans have increased ocean pollution by 30% over the past two centuries, and that in 2019, the ocean surface temperature increased substantially due to climate change, which threatens the marine biological system and the capacity of the oceans to provide resources to coastal communities.
He said rising sea levels would likely threaten the 200mn people living in low-lying coastal areas.
HE al-Dafa said the seminar will hear from experts on ways to protect and conserve the marine and coastal ecosystems and how to promote the sustainable use of water resources.
He stressed however that protecting communities and oceans as well as the planet means the international community must co-operate to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.
The Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Climate Change and Sustainability stressed "the importance of creating a better and sustainable future for our world and future generations", and said societies need to concentrate their efforts to build impact through these initiatives. People need to support the Global Instrument to End Plastic Pollution by framing political and technological innovations that make economic trading practical and feasible, and to stimulate public and private financing in the field of clean environment, he added. (QNA)
The seminar was held at the Qatar National Library, in preparation for the UN Ocean Conference for 2022, which will be held in Lisbon at the end of this month.
The seminar was attended by Charge d'Affaires of the Portugal embassy in Qatar, Manuel Gomes Samuel; Charge d'Affaires of the Kenya embassy in Qatar, Washington Oloo; a number of heads and members of the accredited diplomatic corps, experts, academics, researchers and activists in the field of environment and climate change.
Addressing the seminar, HE al-Dafa thanked the two embassies for co-operating in organising talks in the field of clean environment in order to prepare the ground for the United Nations Ocean Conference for 2022.
He said "our oceans are facing major threats such as pollution, destruction of aquatic life and a significant decrease in fish stocks due to climate change."
He pointed to the importance of the ocean's role in protecting against the worst effects of climate change by absorbing more than 90% of global warming that appeared in the past 50 years, noting that about 8mn tonnes of plastic waste seeps into the oceans each year.
HE al-Dafa pointed out that humans have increased ocean pollution by 30% over the past two centuries, and that in 2019, the ocean surface temperature increased substantially due to climate change, which threatens the marine biological system and the capacity of the oceans to provide resources to coastal communities.
He said rising sea levels would likely threaten the 200mn people living in low-lying coastal areas.
HE al-Dafa said the seminar will hear from experts on ways to protect and conserve the marine and coastal ecosystems and how to promote the sustainable use of water resources.
He stressed however that protecting communities and oceans as well as the planet means the international community must co-operate to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.
The Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Climate Change and Sustainability stressed "the importance of creating a better and sustainable future for our world and future generations", and said societies need to concentrate their efforts to build impact through these initiatives. People need to support the Global Instrument to End Plastic Pollution by framing political and technological innovations that make economic trading practical and feasible, and to stimulate public and private financing in the field of clean environment, he added. (QNA)