Santhosh Chandran
Doha
Minister of Municipality and Environment HE Abdulla bin Abdulaziz bin Turki al Subaie has said Qatar will encourage investments in green economy.
Opening the sixth edition of Qatar Sustainability Summit in Doha on Sunday, Subaie said, "Qatar has put many integrated plans and is working for clean and renewable energy. It aims to generate 200 megawatt of solar power during the next two years that will be increased to 500 megawatt. It is also working for the perfect use and recycling of water, reduction of air pollution, recycling of wastes, raising efficiency of energy use, increasing green areas and encouraging investments in green economy.”
Minister of Transport and Communications HE Jassim Saif Ahmed al Sulaiti and Public Works Authority president Saad bin Ahmad al Muhannadi attended the opening ceremony.
"Qatar Sustainability Summit is an efficient platform for participation of both governmental and private sectors. It supports partnership between them, experiences exchange and recognising the best global practices in sustainability fields,” he said, adding that over the years the summit has set bar on global and regional stage, bringing an array of industry specialists, policy makers and practitioners under one roof to discuss the promises and pitfalls of sustainability.
The minister said Qatar, through its National Vision 2030, has established a balance between the components of sustainable development, which includes community development, economic development and environmental sustainability.
Qatar has adopted a vision that has become a national responsibility in which all institutions and groups of society at the governmental and private levels take part.
He stressed that the Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani announced in his speech before the United Nations Summit in September 2019 to work for the climate, that the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar will work on encouraging and promoting the green investment activity and on adopting low-carbon economic growth, which helps in achieving climate objectives of Paris Agreement, supports sustainable development objectives and employing investments in the sustainable natural resources.
He said Qatar did not spare any effort in implementing application of green buildings standards in governmental buildings and encouraging private sector to do the same.
"There are dozens of success stories in this field that included big compounds, and complete cities that have achieved highest degrees of green buildings standards based on Qatar specifications and standards. All of that connects with evaluating the environmental effects of projects and achievement of obligations for the preservation of ecological sustainability and contribution with global efforts in reduction of causes and effects of climate change and reduce emissions of CO2,” the minister said.
He said these efforts have culminated with stadiums of World Cup 2022, which became global icons, as well as working on making this championship environment-friendly as it will be the first "carbon neutrality” championship through using solar power in stadiums and using energy and water-saving cooling and lighting technology.
Founding Chairman of Gulf Organisation for Research & Development (GORD) Yousef Alhorr said, "GORD’s Global Sustainability Academy fosters capacity building programmes annually, targeting a wide range of professionals and practitioners in the public and private sectors through a range of specialised sustainability courses. Today, we are proud that thousands of practitioners and scholars have benefited from our knowledge dissemination programs in areas of environmental sustainability.”
The event also witnessed a number of MoUs signed between GORD and leading organizations, namely the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), UNESCO and Doha Bank.
The SC signed an agreement with GORD to work towards neutrality of the host country carbon emissions towards 2022 World Cup. GORD will provide services to SC in three main areas, namely standards development, carbon projects document development and facilitation for carbon credits issued by the Global Carbon Trust (GCT) – the MENA region’s first voluntary carbon offsetting platform.
UNESO and GORD have also signed a letter of intent to work towards specific goals set forth by the United Nations. To this end, the two entities will introduce joint initiatives enhancing knowledge on climate change, impact of pollution and unsustainable consumption practices. Similarly, the organisations will team up to raise awareness and foster the role of educational institutions in responding to climate change challenges.
Doha Bank has signed to partner with GORD to explore areas of mutual collaboration in sustainability and carbon neutrality.
A number of ‘Sustainability Awards” were given to various leading green projects within MENA region.
Hamad Port Project was awarded for the exceptional implementation of GSAS among other sustainability initiatives, while the Ministry of Interior was recognised for considering sustainability as one of the key aspects in delivering several MOI projects, including National Cyber Security Center and Civil Defense & Preventive Buildings in Al Wakra.
Another recipient of Sustainability Award was Qatar Rail for its outstanding 5-Stars rating of Msheireb Metro Station, managing to exceed Qatar Rail requirement of 4-Stars. Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy was awarded for extraordinary delivery of four stadiums with 5-Stars provisional certificates, exceeding FIFA’s requirement of 4-Stars.
Doha
Minister of Municipality and Environment HE Abdulla bin Abdulaziz bin Turki al Subaie has said Qatar will encourage investments in green economy.
Opening the sixth edition of Qatar Sustainability Summit in Doha on Sunday, Subaie said, "Qatar has put many integrated plans and is working for clean and renewable energy. It aims to generate 200 megawatt of solar power during the next two years that will be increased to 500 megawatt. It is also working for the perfect use and recycling of water, reduction of air pollution, recycling of wastes, raising efficiency of energy use, increasing green areas and encouraging investments in green economy.”
Minister of Transport and Communications HE Jassim Saif Ahmed al Sulaiti and Public Works Authority president Saad bin Ahmad al Muhannadi attended the opening ceremony.
"Qatar Sustainability Summit is an efficient platform for participation of both governmental and private sectors. It supports partnership between them, experiences exchange and recognising the best global practices in sustainability fields,” he said, adding that over the years the summit has set bar on global and regional stage, bringing an array of industry specialists, policy makers and practitioners under one roof to discuss the promises and pitfalls of sustainability.
The minister said Qatar, through its National Vision 2030, has established a balance between the components of sustainable development, which includes community development, economic development and environmental sustainability.
Qatar has adopted a vision that has become a national responsibility in which all institutions and groups of society at the governmental and private levels take part.
He stressed that the Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani announced in his speech before the United Nations Summit in September 2019 to work for the climate, that the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar will work on encouraging and promoting the green investment activity and on adopting low-carbon economic growth, which helps in achieving climate objectives of Paris Agreement, supports sustainable development objectives and employing investments in the sustainable natural resources.
He said Qatar did not spare any effort in implementing application of green buildings standards in governmental buildings and encouraging private sector to do the same.
"There are dozens of success stories in this field that included big compounds, and complete cities that have achieved highest degrees of green buildings standards based on Qatar specifications and standards. All of that connects with evaluating the environmental effects of projects and achievement of obligations for the preservation of ecological sustainability and contribution with global efforts in reduction of causes and effects of climate change and reduce emissions of CO2,” the minister said.
He said these efforts have culminated with stadiums of World Cup 2022, which became global icons, as well as working on making this championship environment-friendly as it will be the first "carbon neutrality” championship through using solar power in stadiums and using energy and water-saving cooling and lighting technology.
Founding Chairman of Gulf Organisation for Research & Development (GORD) Yousef Alhorr said, "GORD’s Global Sustainability Academy fosters capacity building programmes annually, targeting a wide range of professionals and practitioners in the public and private sectors through a range of specialised sustainability courses. Today, we are proud that thousands of practitioners and scholars have benefited from our knowledge dissemination programs in areas of environmental sustainability.”
The event also witnessed a number of MoUs signed between GORD and leading organizations, namely the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), UNESCO and Doha Bank.
The SC signed an agreement with GORD to work towards neutrality of the host country carbon emissions towards 2022 World Cup. GORD will provide services to SC in three main areas, namely standards development, carbon projects document development and facilitation for carbon credits issued by the Global Carbon Trust (GCT) – the MENA region’s first voluntary carbon offsetting platform.
UNESO and GORD have also signed a letter of intent to work towards specific goals set forth by the United Nations. To this end, the two entities will introduce joint initiatives enhancing knowledge on climate change, impact of pollution and unsustainable consumption practices. Similarly, the organisations will team up to raise awareness and foster the role of educational institutions in responding to climate change challenges.
Doha Bank has signed to partner with GORD to explore areas of mutual collaboration in sustainability and carbon neutrality.
A number of ‘Sustainability Awards” were given to various leading green projects within MENA region.
Hamad Port Project was awarded for the exceptional implementation of GSAS among other sustainability initiatives, while the Ministry of Interior was recognised for considering sustainability as one of the key aspects in delivering several MOI projects, including National Cyber Security Center and Civil Defense & Preventive Buildings in Al Wakra.
Another recipient of Sustainability Award was Qatar Rail for its outstanding 5-Stars rating of Msheireb Metro Station, managing to exceed Qatar Rail requirement of 4-Stars. Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy was awarded for extraordinary delivery of four stadiums with 5-Stars provisional certificates, exceeding FIFA’s requirement of 4-Stars.