Minister of Environment and Climate Change H E Sheikh Dr. Faleh bin Nasser bin Ahmed bin Ali Al Thani addressing the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), in Glasgow, Scotland, yesterday.
Glasgow: The State of Qatar, in conjunction with the expansion of its LNG production capabilities, is working to remove more carbon from the gas production chain, through the largest carbon sequestration facility in the Middle East and North Africa.
“The facility has been operating for several years with an annual capacity of 2.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. Qatar aims to expand the facility to nine million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year by 2030,” said Minister of Environment and Climate Change H E Sheikh Dr. Faleh bin Nasser bin Ahmed bin Ali Al Thani.
The Minister was addressing an event at UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), in Glasgow, Scotland, yesterday.
He pointed out that natural gas, along with the sequestering carbon technology, is part of practical solutions and contributes to dealing with the intermittency of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy.
The Minister noted that Qatar continues to invest in low-carbon technologies such as carbon capture and sequestration and solar energy, and will start producing electricity from solar energy for the first time in the first half of 2022, adding that it aspires to double the use of solar power plants to generate electricity by 2030. He pointed out that Qatar is also examining the best ways to develop and use other clean fuels such as hydrogen.
He pointed out that Qatar contributes to supporting the transition to low-carbon energy by continuing and increasing the export of natural gas, which plays a key role in reducing dependence on high-carbon fuels, adding that the State of Qatar is working in partnership with many countries around the world in this field.
The Minister said that Qatar, during the UN Climate Action Summit 2019 in September 2019, contributed $100m to support small island states and least developed countries to deal with climate change, in addition to directing the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) to continue mobilising support to address climate change and promote green growth in these countries. The Minister explained that climate change is a national priority for Qatar, as it has set bold and realistic ambitions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in all sectors and is committed to achieving its goals.
He added that a specialised Ministry for Environment and Climate Change has recently been established to ensure continuous and systematic attention and implement future plans.
The Minister affirmed Qatar’s commitment to more global environmental efforts by planting one million trees before the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which is a source of pride for Qatar as the first carbon-neutral World Cup. The state also announced that it will plant ten million trees by 2030 to complete these efforts, he added. Looking beyond reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the Minister said Qatar worked to develop a comprehensive environmental strategy, as the concern for the environment is deeply rooted in its heritage and determines the future, adding that the new environmental strategy is based on a vision to achieve harmony and balance between protecting the environment, economic growth, and social development.
