Speakers during the webinar
The British Council in partnership with the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME), Arab Youth Climate Movement Qatar and Qatar Green Building Council (QGBC) delivered the ‘Climate Change in Qatar Virtual Webinar,’ as part of the Qatar – UK Alumni Talk series.
Nearly 100 attendees from various fields and organisations attended the webinar. 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 to 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. British Ambassador to Qatar, H E Jon Wilks said, “We are at a turning point for our planet. As we recover from COVID-19, it is critical that we build back greener and more resilient.
As COP26 hosts, 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. 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.” On tackling Qatar’s work, commitment and preparation for COP 26, Abdulhadi Almarri, Director, Climate Change Department, MME, said, "Qatar is affected both by adverse effects of climate change on ecology & 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."
Sam Ayton, Country Director of the British Council in Qatar said, "Climate change is one of the greatest social, economic, political, and environmental challenges facing us in the 21st Century and recouping our biodiversity is something that should be our number one priority. We are working here in Qatar and in over 100 countries around the world to provide appropriate platforms for discussion and to 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 said, "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 programs."
Dr Alex commented, “Data and measurement are crucial to gain a complete understanding of Qatar’s CO2e emissions — 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, Arab Youth Climate Movement Qatar, said, “We are glad to co-organise this important webinar with British Council Qatar and also to share about Arab youth Climate Movement Qatar’s (AYCMQA) mission and strategic programmes for youth to educate, empower and advocate for climate action in Qatar ahead of COP 26, the UN climate change conference in Glasgow, UK. We believe this event did provide a platform for discussion of ideas for youths in Qatar to work together in raising their voice for collective global action against climate change “
