MoECC highlights measures to combat the effects of climate change in Qatar

THE Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MoECC) on Tuesday organised a workshop on climate vulnerability assessment and its impact in Qatar to further discuss the preliminary findings of assessing the climate effect of six sectors in the country.

Held in partnership with the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), the two-day workshop included presentations delivered by a team of GGGI’s employees, along with external experts from the Ricardo sustainable energy company and those specialized in climate vulnerability and adaptation.

The preliminary findings of assessing the climate effect of six sectors in the country were shared with the engagement of over 120 officials, academics, civil society activists and the private sector.

Assistant Undersecretary for Environmental Affairs at MoECC Ahmed Mohammed Al Sada said Qatar has taken ambitious measures to achieve the Qatar National Vision 2030 in protecting the environment, promoting green growth and reducing climate change impact through setting a national strategy for environment and climate change and laying out a clear ten-year climate change national action plan in Qatar.

Sada pointed out that the national action plan included a roadmap through which Qatar fulfils its international obligations to mitigate climate change effects, especially the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. He added that over 300 measures have been identified to reduce the actual and anticipated effects of climate change, including various sectors in the country such as the economic sector, infrastructure, health care, food security, biodiversity, and other relevant sectors.

He underscored the importance of cooperation between stakeholders and national and international organisations to achieve these objectives, noting the MoECC’s cooperation with the GGGI to carry out the national climate adaptation planning project which aims to enhance the national planning process for adaptation in Qatar through identifying and addressing its medium and long-term priorities to adapt to climate change.

He said the workshop is one of the initiatives of this project, which aims to conduct an evidence-based participatory national assessment where the participating experts embark on identifying and arranging the priorities of the predicted impacts of climate change and the necessary adaptation measures to address them.

The head of the GGGI’s programme in Qatar Chiden Balmes gave a detailed overview of the project and the key concepts to enhance people’s understanding and awareness of adaptation, pointing out that the GGGI works to give impetus to the national planning for the adaptation process in Qatar through identifying and addressing its medium and long-term priorities to adapt to climate change.

Qatar really faces some challenges concerning the effects related to climate, Balmes pointed out, adding that such challenges can be transformed into opportunities to promote flexibility through identifying adaptation measures and them in Qatar.

He called on stakeholders to be part of the national planning process to adaptation by sharing their knowledge, expertise and comments through this workshop.

Assistant Director of the Climate Change Department at the MoECC Mahmoud Al Marwani said the workshop aims to draw a map of the most significant challenges of climate change in Qatar and establish data on the most affected sectors by these changes and their effects, pointing out that based on these data a plan will be laid out to address these challenges and adapt to climate change effects accordingly. implementing