Following Qatar’s launch of a national climate change action plan which aims to achieve 25% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, several initiatives from public and private stakeholders have geared the nation towards achieving its sustainability goals.
The Arab Youth Climate Movement Qatar’s (AYCMQ) ‘Household Carbon Footprint Initiative’ has trained 20 schools participating in its groundbreaking survey, Neeshad ShafiNeeshad Shafi, Executive Director, AYCMQ, speaking during an event., Executive Director, AYCMQ, told The Peninsula.
The survey, launched last year in the presence of Bader Al Dafa, Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Climate Change and Sustainability and Dr. Anna Paolina, Director, Unesco GCC, and Yemen, is targeted at understanding the resource consumption and carbon footprint in Qatar.
The AYCMQ has partnered with key national stakeholders, including the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE), Supreme Committee of Delivery and Legacy and Unesco GCC. The US Embassy Qatar Grant funding also supports the programme.
“We have trained almost 700 teachers, and now we are moving the interaction to the kids taking the survey. We have covered 20 Arabic and international schools, and we hope to cover as many schools as possible. Now we get more invitations daily from many schools interested in understanding the programme,” Shafi said.
He noted that most of the schools covered are Arabic schools, and almost 500 of the trained teachers are from Arabic schools.
He added that the students are being trained on how to take the survey, how to overcome the difficulty they may face and how long they should collect the data. Shafi said the organisation plans to reach 50 schools in the programme’s first phase.
“This is just the starting point. After the survey, the work starts, and we will train the schools on how they can reduce their carbon footprint, which we hope to have in July or August. This training will be for kids 12-15 years old, but younger kids interested are also encouraged to participate in the survey.
“We might cover another 20 schools in the coming weeks because our target is to get 50 schools in Qatar involved in the survey and then build from there,” Shafi added.
Carbon footprint means the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the atmosphere due to the activities of a particular individual, organisation, or community.
Shafi said the report from the survey would benefit the relevant authorities as Qatar moves towards hosting a carbon-neutral FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
“Towards the World Cup, this would be a good report for the country considering the emphasis on a carbon-neutral tournament.
“It would encourage citizens and residents to be conscious about their footprint and create awareness towards saving the environment.”
