DOHA: Speakers at the 'Usefulness of climate summits in addressing the risks of climate change'seminar, which was organised by the 'Flower Each Spring'programme within its Ramadan Green Tent, emphasized the necessity of concerted efforts at the national, regional, and global levels, and implementing what was agreed upon in successive climate summits since the Rio de Janeiro 1992 Earth Summit to COP 28in Dubai.
Speakers at the seminar, which was held via direct attendance and video conferencing, considered that international participation and commitment to what was agreed upon is an international goal to confront climate change, and a major challenge affecting various development sectors, environmental systems, and habitats, calling for the necessity of rationalizing all natural resources and changing the unsustainable unfair production patterns, depleted and unsustainable consumption, and adaptation to the consequences of climate change due to the impossibility of preventing disasters and the possibility of reducing their effects.
Speakers stressed the need for environmental solidarity, building human capabilities, developing and transferring technology, increasing spending on relevant research and establishing partnerships, and reducing material and technical support measures between countries to confront climate change.
They provided a historical overview of the international response to the challenges of climate change, the causes of disagreement, the lack of international commitment to climate agreements, the role of green technologies and industries in reducing the effects of climate change, and targeted Arab initiatives in this field.
They attributed the reasons for disagreement and lack of international commitment to climate agreements to differing interests, insufficient commitments, as well as lax implementation, and the complexity of international negotiations as it is fraught with differing viewpoints, in addition to technical and financial challenges.
Participants pointed out that green technologies and industries play a vital role in reducing the effects of climate change, which contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving the quality of life, by using clean energy and sustainable agricultural practices, and ensuring recycling, leading to achieving the concept of a circular economy.
The attendees reviewed Arab governmental and private initiatives aimed at addressing climate change in various aspects of sustainable development in the region, including the Saudi Green Initiative, which began in 2021 and aims to protect the environment and transitional energy, sustainability programs, compensation, and reduction of carbon emissions, afforestation, protection of terrestrial and marine areas, and state efforts; Qatar's commitment to plant 10 million trees; Morocco's strategy to address the effects of climate change by integrating the environmental dimension and the issue of climate change into many key sectors such as energy, agriculture, industry, tourism, and fishing; the Arab Group for the Protection of Nature, which is concerned with planting millions of fruit trees in the occupied territories of Palestine, and the Arab Youth Climate Network to involve them in sustainability activities and programs to address climate change; and the Arab regional center for climate knowledge, which works to enhance cooperation between countries to address climate change and enhance adaptation capabilities throughout the Arab region and also highlights the need for urgent, coordinated, and effective action, as well as adequate funding to make a difference in tackling rising temperatures and climate challenges.
Speakers pointed out that what we are seeing in terms of fires, floods, hurricanes, and heat waves in places that are not accustomed to these climates is not the result of a coincidence, or something that happened overnight, but rather is the result of decisions that were not taken for decades, the absence of a global environmental vision, and the marginalization of some communities and nationalities that are in the first frontline.
They noted that the climate change dilemma is not only related to reducing emissions, but rather is part of the issue of achieving sustainable development that includes the right to equality and non-marginalization and investing resources optimally, without compromising the rights of future generations.
