The Gulf nation’s National Action Plan demonstrates a proactive approach to climate resilience.
More than 300 strategies have been identified to mitigate the current and anticipated effects of climate change, officials in Qatar confirmed.
Qatar’s blueprint outlines how authorities plan to honour the country’s international commitments in the fight against climate change, primarily by curbing greenhouse gas emissions, Ahmed Mohamed Al Sada, Assistant Undersecretary for Climate Change Affairs at the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MoECC) said at a recent event.
The official was speaking at the inaugural session of the ‘Climate Vulnerability & Impact Assessment for Qatar’ workshop, in which he addressed the initial findings of climate vulnerability assessments in six key sectors and detailed Qatar’s National Action Plan.
Al Sada said more than 300 strategies have been identified to alleviate the actual and expected impacts of climate change, which extend across multiple sectors such as the economy, infrastructure, healthcare, food and water security, biodiversity, and others.
The two-day event, hosted in Doha by MoECC in collaboration with the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), attracted a diverse crowd of government officials, academics, private sector representatives, and members of civil society organisations.
Over the years, Qatar has developed a national environmental and climate change strategy and a comprehensive, decade-long climate change action plan.
The official emphasised the significance of collaborative work among various stakeholders, and national and international organisations to reach such ambitious goals.
The official also mentioned cooperation between the MoECC and the GGGI on the National Climate Adaptation Planning Project, a project which seeks to enhance Qatar’s National Adaptation Planning (NAP) process by identifying and addressing medium and long-term climate change priorities.
Meanwhile, Chiden Oseo Balmes, Senior Program Officer at GGGI’s Qatar Office, also highlighted the importance of adaptation to climate change and expressed the organisation’s commitment to facilitating Qatar’s NAP process.
He also highlighted the potential for transforming climate-related challenges into resilience-enhancing opportunities by implementing appropriate adaptation measures.
