Carbon Emissions Reduction Strategies for Qatar

On 30 September 2024, the Middle East Council on Global Affairs and Earthna Center for a Sustainable Future organized a workshop to explore viable carbon emissions reductions strategies and pragmatic policy alternatives that could help Qatar achieve its ambitious target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2030. The workshop, organized as part of Qatar Sustainability Week 2024, brought together a group of leading scholars, policy experts and advisors. The discussion focused on the policy implications of research being conducted in this area.  

The workshop was composed of three sessions. The first session provided context on Qatar’s current efforts to achieve its decarbonization goals. The focus of the conversation revolved around three topics: 1) the role of Qatar’s LNG exports in global emissions reductions; 2) the need for increasing Qatar’s carbon capture, utilization, and storage capacity; and 3) scenario planning for the future of decarbonization in Qatar. The group also discussed the need to avoid a ‘crash landing’ for sunset industries that are expected decline as Qatar’s economy decarbonizes, the issue of discrepancies in per capita emissions calculations, and alternative options for Qatar to contribute to carbon mitigation. One alternative that was proposed was using Qatar’s official development assistance to accelerate decarbonization in developing countries.  

During the second session, workshop participants explored the latest technological innovations and their potential to impact Qatar’s decarbonization efforts, including 1) green/blue/grey hydrogen; 2) small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs); and 3) groundwater resources. The discussion highlighted Qatar’s comparative advantage in utilize hydrogen due to the existing natural gas infrastructure. However, the participants stressed that Qatar would need to assess if transitioning to hydrogen will offer sufficient advantages to justify the required investments. As for nuclear SMRs, concerns were raised about the difficulty and dangers of handling nuclear waste. Furthermore, the private sector’s dominant position in the SMR market adds a layer of complication and safety concerns. As for the issue of groundwater resources, unsustainable overextraction is causing swift depletion of Qatar’s aquifers. This is accelerating land subsidence and could cause an increase in demand for seawater desalination, which is energy intensive and would increase carbon emissions. 

During the third and final session, the group touched on decarbonization policy issues and alternative solutions. The main topics addressed were: 1) carbon markets; 2) energy subsidies; 3) climate policy uncertainty; and 4) geopolitics of decarbonization. On carbon markets, the participants concluded that there is a need to integrate the GCC’s many emergent carbon markets and to find synergies between compliance carbon markets (CCMs) and regional voluntary carbon markets (VCMs). On energy subsidies, participants reflected on the current structure of energy subsidies and the potentially negative impact it has on consumer behavior by incentivizing wasteful energy use. As such, alternative models were proposed, such as the Iran model (cash transfers to citizens) and the Alaska model (hydrocarbon revenue distribution). These models have been shown to foster more responsible consumer behavior. As for the discussions on climate policy uncertainty and the geopolitics of decarbonization, the group highlighted the impact of media discourse on agenda setting, which explains the pervasive uncertainty that the public in the MENA region feels towards climate policy. Furthermore, the changing landscape of energy markets could impact Qatar as Europe reduces its reliance on natural gas and East Asian nations contemplate the possibility of establishing a ‘buying cartel’ to leverage negotiating power.  

In conclusion, the group agreed to continue engaging in research and policy discussions on Qatar’s carbon emissions reduction strategies, collaborate on future publications, and explore the possibility of organizing events on the sidelines of COP29 and COP30.