QNA
Doha
The Friends of the Environment Center (FEC) of the Ministry of Sports and Youth, in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, organised the second environmental forum 2023, under the theme ‘Our environment is a legacy...a homeland’. The forum was held to discuss global environmental challenges and the impact of climate change on Qatar and to submit its recommendations to the competent authorities to take the appropriate action.
The forum, which represents a platform for experts, researchers and academics to present solutions to the challenges facing the Qatari environment, began with a symposium entitled ‘Climate change: challenges and ambitions’, with the participation of a group of environmental experts, officials and those concerned with environmental issues.
The speakers at the first symposium discussed a set of local and global climate change challenges, their impact on food security and the efforts made by Qatar in this field, as Qatar adopted the recently launched National Climate Change Plan, which identified more than 35 initiatives to reduce emissions, more than 300 initiatives to adapt to the effects of climate change, as well as experts issuing a set of recommendations to confront climate change and its impact on the planet.
The participants in the symposium unanimously agreed on the need to enhance social responsibility towards environmental issues through the expansion of associations, centres and organisations that support efforts to confront climate change, while developing training programmes for the private sector, creating partnerships with governmental institutions and providing all global parties related to climate change first-hand use of information to use in researches and educate young people about the seriousness of environmental pollution, and energy and resource waste.
Participants noted that during the past 10 years, Qatar has been affected by global climate changes, as temperatures inside cities rose as a result of a large number of buildings, their heights and the materials used in its construction, while outside the cities, the temperature remained at its natural limits.
They added that Qatar is a peninsula located in a dry desert environment, which makes global climate changes severely affect it, therefore, the country has taken a set of important steps to limit climate changes, including the development of policies to achieve a 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, the establishment of the Al Kharsaah Solar Power Plant, the expansion of green and sustainable buildings and environmentally friendly transportation, and the launching the ‘Tarsheed’ project, as well as the involvement of young people in climate-related meetings and conferences and involve them in launching environmental initiatives to qualify them to lead future generations.
CEO of the Friends of the Environment Center Engineer Farhoud Al Hajri said the success of the first environmental forum last year encouraged the centre to organise this year’s edition, which focuses on climate change and its impact on Qatar and the world due to the risks it poses on humanity, whether in terms of natural disasters and their devastating effects, or the rise in temperatures and the melting of ice in the North and South Poles.
He referred to Qatar’s efforts in issuing a number of legislations that contribute to protecting the environment and achieving a 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, within the framework of the National Climate Change Plan, as well as the participation of Qatar in many International conferences, and its accession to all international agreements that contribute to and protect the environment.
For his part, environmental consultant and general supervisor of the forum Dr Muhammad Saif Al Kuwari warned that the climate changes taking place are caused by human activity, pointing out that these gases caused an ozone hole. Therefore, international efforts to protect the planet from harmful radiation have doubled and the world agreed on carbon zero in 2050, in accordance with The Paris Agreement signed by all countries.
The environmental expert explained that climate change has caused many environmental disasters such as floods, hurricanes, strong winds, desertification and drought.
