Doha: Qatar Foundation’s Earthna Center for a Sustainable Future has started work on a project to develop strategies which will eventually help Qatar reduce carbon emissions.
The project will be initially implemented within Education City, said Executive Director of Earthna, Dr. Gonzalo Castro de la Mata.
The project and its implementation are based on analysis of carbon footprint in Education City, he said speaking to media recently.
“We have measured the carbon footprint in Education City. Now we know how to develop a strategy to lower the carbon emissions; we have the methodology and then we have the strategies to reduce the carbon emission,” said Dr. Gonzalo Castro de la Mata.
“Now what we learn from that (Education City) can be applied in Doha and in Qatar as a whole,” he said giving the example of main sources of emissions methods of how to reduce water usage.
The project is in line with the Earthna Center’s mandate to take leadership in policymaking, establishing and promoting policy priorities, strengthening links between education, research, and industry; and the project will focus on several areas including on efficiency of buildings, water and power consumption.
“One of the areas of focus is efficiency in the buildings; so the buildings have to be well insulated so in any condition its does not leak out; another important area is lights automatically go off, so it’s important to install those type of detectors, although the facility is available in many buildings within Education City,” said Dr. Gonzalo Castro de la Mata.
“Another area is water –when you desalinate water you emit a lot of Co2, because of the energy and then you have to conserve water to reduce emissions. Some people don’t think about a source of emissions, but in a country where water comes from desalination – then of course you should consider as source of emission,” he added.
Earthna Center is also focusing on the Education’s commitment to build awareness on the importance of sustainability and adopt greener lifestyles to help reduce carbon emissions.
“We have a strategy to continue making Education City more sustainable by allowing people to walk with shade, introducing solar panels to provide shade and to generate electricity, expand some of the landscaping and we make it spacious as well as we intend to increase green rooftops,” said Dr. Gonzalo Castro de la Mata.
