The British Council in partnership with the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME), the Arab Youth Climate Movement Qatar LLC(G) and Qatar Green Building Council (QGBC) recently delivered the ‘Climate Change in Qatar Virtual Webinar,’ as part of the Qatar – UK Alumni Talk series. The discussion was participated by nearly 100 attendees from various fields and organisations.

The webinar offered an opportunity for an engaging and informative dialogue with environmental experts, government officials, educators, and youth environment leaders in Qatar, to share their views on climate change issues, discuss international and local efforts needed and explore how education can play a vital role in empowering young people to make a difference.

In November 2021, the UK will co-host the UN Climate Change Conference COP26, in partnership with Italy, bringing together world leaders to tackle climate change.

This webinar was held as part of the ‘Together for Our Planet’ campaign aimed to work with partners in Qatar and worldwide to support the success and legacy of COP26, creating opportunities for climate cooperation, dialogue, and action.

To mark the occasion, British Ambassador to the State of Qatar, HE Jon Wilks said that as we recover from COVID-19, it is critical that we build back greener and more resilient. As COP26 hosts, he said that the UK will lead by example.

Guided by science, we will invest in a green recovery which creates sustainable jobs and addresses the urgent and linked challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and public health.

He said that the UK is committed to working with all countries and joining forces with civil society, companies and people on the frontline of climate change to inspire action ahead of COP26. Events such as today are an excellent opportunity to work across Qatari society on this crucial issue.

Qatar’s commitment

On tackling Qatar’s work, commitment and preparation for COP26, MME Climate Change Department Director Abdulhadi Almarri said, Qatar is affected both by adverse effects of climate change on the ecology and human systems, and the impact of the implementation of response measures by other countries on our economy.

Currently, we are closely monitoring various mitigation and adaptation projects within the process of developing an updated National Determined Contribution (NDC), aligned with the requirements of Paris Agreement, which will be submitted to UNFCCC before COP26.

According to British Council in Qatar Country Director Sam Ayton, climate change is one of the greatest social, economic, political, and environmental challenges facing the 21st century and recouping biodiversity is something that should be a number one priority. She said that the British Council is working in Qatar and in over 100 countries around the world to provide appropriate platforms for discussion and combat climate change.

Through discussions like this, we aim to support Qatar develop sustainable initiatives and contribute to a greener future.

QGBC was presented by Shireen Obeidat, and Dr Alex Amato covering QGBC’s involvement and contribution to COP26, Qatar’s position on climate change and challenges as well as opportunities for Qatar.

Obeidat affirmed that QGBC continues to focus on building public support for climate solutions by integrating sustainability through awareness, education, research and developing clear environmental and sustainable best practice guidelines and tools through our national campaigns and programmes.

D Amato added that data and measurement are crucial to gain a complete understanding of Qatar’s CO2 emissions – and that only after we have a clear overall sector by sector outline of Qatar’s energy demand, can a cogent mitigation route for Qatar be discerned – if you don’t measure you can’t manage.

Neeshad Shafi, Executive Director of Arab Youth Climate Movement Qatar LLC(G) said they are glad to co-organise this important webinar with British Council Qatar and to share about their mission and strategic programmes.

We believe this event provided a platform for discussion of ideas for youths in Qatar to work together in raising their voice for collective global action against climate change.

For more information about UN Climate Change Conference, visit ukcop26.org


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