Meriam Jelliti
Doha
The first-ever Earthna Summit 2023 kicked off at Mushaireb’ downtown on Wednesday with Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, chairperson of Qatar Foundation, presiding over the opening ceremony.
Held under the theme ‘Building New Sustainability Pathways for Hot and Arid environments’, the conference was attended by Minister of Environment and Climate Change HE Sheikh Dr Faleh bin Nasser bin Ahmed bin Ali Al Thani and Vice-Chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani.
Also present at the event were President of Zambia Hakainde Hichilema, President of Sierra Leone Julius Maada Bio, a number of sheikhs and ministers, policy makers and specialists from many countries around the world.
Diverse topics highlighting the current and emerging needs, challenges and opportunities in global sustainability and issues relevant to tropical and temperate countries are being addressed by global experts during the Earthna Summit.
Earthna will focus on four main streams: Towards a New Sustainability Framework for Countries in Hot and Arid Environments, Food Security Adaptation and Resilience, Climate and Energy, and Biodiversity, Ecosystems and Indigenous Knowledge.
Addressing the opening session, HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani said, “We have deliberately placed a significant emphasis on exploring indigenous practices, in search of the fountains of accumulated wisdom tucked away in ordinary places.
“The purpose of seeking out indigenous wisdom is for us to discern and choose wisely that which resonates in our local environment, so that we may adopt simple whole solutions instead of complicating things. When we adopt new policies, we can attack the root causes of our modern issues, instead of getting lost in the branches.”
She added, “Climate change is an issue faced by all countries. Qatar requires unique solutions. We must focus on the current and the new generation culture, one generation after another, and take lessons of the previous experiences.”
She stressed that it is unattainable to deny the current environmental crisis and the concern seen among youth.
Sustainability discussions have typically revolved around tropical and temperate needs.
The Earthna Summit aims to make hot and arid environments – such as Qatar’s –more prominent in the global conversation by highlighting the critical adaptation needs of countries with such climates, and exploring options as the world moves towards energy transition.
“Qatar has shown great commitment. This summit is the evidence for that,” said the minister of Environment and Climate Change. “Through these two days, we will focus on a number of expertise to explore solutions. All four pillars will be discussed so we can delineate the path for the future generations.”
Earthna 2023 is bringing together over 500 high-level policy makers, thought leaders, academics, experts and local and international businesses to discuss and propose lasting and innovative solutions to global climate crisis and in particular the regional challenges.
Discussions will revolve around four topics that will be presented in specialised seminars, addressing important environmental challenges such as climate change and food security, all supported by evidence-based research reports prepared by the summit experts, which provide actionable policy recommendations.
In addition to the policy briefings, the summit will share reports on implementing new sustainability pathways and build a whole global on sustainability for hot and arid environments: Global challenges to food security, circular economies in hot and arid environments, climate change adaptation, global trends, in energy and economics, sustainable agriculture, and architecture, youth empowerment, Greentech, and decarbonisation and biodiversity.
