Qatar's sustainability drive and climate change adaptation efforts have started bearing fruit, with an increasing number of government and private bodies adopting sustainable practices and green building standards.
Following the trend in the government sector of designing green buildings, the country's private sector has also come forward with innovative sustainable building designs, cutting electricity and water consumption and reducing waste.
Qatar has 1,406 sustainability certified buildings, according to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. “Qatar has the highest number of buildings (1,406) with Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS), green building standards,” the Ministry said in a tweet yesterday.
GSAS under the Gulf Organization for Research and Development (GORD) green building rating system is awarded for the efficient operations and maintenance of existing facilities. GSAS is the MENA region’s first green building certification system that assesses and guides projects on reducing their environmental footprint during design, construction, and operations stages.
Representing green building regulations within Qatar Construction Specifications, GSAS is aimed at improving the design, construction and operations of buildings while also identifying sustainability challenges specific to MENA’s built environment.
Qatar has intensified efforts to ensure the sustainability and address climate change in many ways. Qatar and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) signed recently a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the field of adaptation to climate change and green growth at the GGGI headquarters in Seoul, Republic of Korea. This is part of major efforts by the county which seeks to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 25% in a business-as-usual scenario by 2030, enhance ambient air quality standards and update limit values by 2024 amongst other targets.
This is adapted by Qatar National Environment and Climate Change Strategy (QNE) which was released recently, charting the next chapter in the nation’s environmental journey.
The strategy will also provide a framework to realise Qatar’s 2030 ambitions while paving the way for long-term environmental management.
A new cross-ministerial taskforce, under the guidance and direction of Qatar’s leaders, will be set up to lead and review QNE’s implementation. This will be done together with the amendment of critical policies and regulations to support these changes. A dedicated budget will be set aside to drive implementation efforts, alongside investment into innovative technology, and capability and awareness building efforts.
The launch of QNE is a landmark step to champion environmental growth and prosperity in Qatar. QNE will drive a new trajectory that not only accelerates tangible impact across specific environmental domains, but also installs a robust policy framework, strong governance, and solid capability infrastructure to safeguard Qatar’s environment for future generations.
The State of Qatar recently submitted its second report on the National Determined Contribution (NDC) to the United Nation, in which it pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2030.
