Gulf Climate Action: Strengthening Mitigation and Adaptation Measures:

Talha Mirza: Program Manager, Earthna

• The common issues across the GCC such as hot and arid climate, extreme and high levels of weather change, water scarcity and rapid urbanization, loss of coastal biodiversity and the dependency on that coastal ecosystem should be improved collectively through focused policies, economic models and systems that improve energy efficiency, restoring the ecosystem and marine life.
• Targeted and tailored approaches best address the regional needs, as the climate context does not fit into the “saving forests” narrative. In the case of the Gulf, it should be “save the oceans.”
• Investing in tailored approaches can also allow the GCC to create their IP in the field, innovate new technologies, and share knowledge for countries sharing similar hot and arid environments.
• There is no economic tradeoff between improving the climate context and the economy. Steps taken in reaching the climate goals can help diversify the economy, allowing sustainable growth and more nuanced forms of wealth creation and perception.
• Earthna has already taken steps in blue-economy, such as the “Summer Blue-Economies for Coastal Resilience Program” which was in partnership with the MENA Oceans Initiative from the UAE.This long term initiative serves as an example of collaborative regional investment, and the goal of creating research reports on what and how things need to be done.

Ola Altera: Chief Executive, Swedish Climate Policy Council

• Qatar and Sweden share similarities in their creation of wealthy and prosperous nations whose strong economic reliance on fossil fuels maintained its sustenance in harsh environments. To ensure the longevity of their nations, both countries are taking steps to enter new phases in their economic and social development policies regarding the impending dangers of climate change.
• Sweden’s case of early climate adaptation since the early 1900s and the success in achieving, and even surpassing those goals, can be an example for the Gulf region to set their concrete goals, take the needed action and the indirect effect of this chain of action onto innovative solutions.
• Qatar can invest in diversifying its economy and increase the use of renewable energy sources in electricity production and electricity run transportation sectors, while increasing their gas exports. Long term investments should be made in carbon capturing and recycling technologies, effectively used in Sweden.
• The Nordic electricity alliance market, which includes Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland, can also serve as an example of effective regional cooperation and investment in renewable energy sources, which maximizes the energy efficiency of each country.

Dhabia Al-Mohnnadi: Associate Professor, College of Science and Engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa University

• Qatar is living in the post-climate change world; having seen extreme effects of climate change, be it through the temperature fluctuations, unseen levels of rain or the effects on the food supply chain.
• Qatar has relied on hydrocarbons to sustain life in the non-inhabitable climate of the country, combating low soil quality and lack of water resources. Yet their approach has been adaptive, with a successful energy adaptation history as recent as the 1990s and early 2000s when Qatar shifted from oil based to gas based economy. While the changes happened due to necessity, they still showcase Qatar’s capacity and willingness to change its energy sources.
• The region’s priority should be investment in technologies and systems that work with the climate context. Carbon capture proves more effective than initiatives such as nature capture due to Qatar’s limited natural greenery, poor soil quality and arid air.
• A positive step towards integration and bridging of science and policy in climate change is through setting quota systems and long-term investments across sectors such as agriculture and energy while also developing innovative methods of climate resilience building, modelled after the European initiatives.
• Regional cooperation and alignment in detection and protection of the climate not only creates easy channels of knowledge transfer but also gives more weight to the issue in the international arena.

Anasse Bouhlal: Programme Specialist, Higher Education

• The narratives around the best practice in addressing the issue of climate change should be analyzed through its compatibility with the regional context. UNESCO is contributing to the facilitation of discussions on the compatibility of the narratives present and lessons that can be learned from them.
• Alarmingly, 100 countries in the world do not include climate change in their curriculum and there is very little willingness on the part of the instructors to teach about the topic as well. Similarly, 70% of the youth cannot explain climate change, exhibiting the educational shortcomings and the urgency with which it should be addressed.
• Climate change responses are not purely for economic but also environmental and educational reasons as well.
• Best practice in the climate resilience building is knowledge sharing, collaborative approach and skill building.

Additional – Q&A

• Earthna’s long-term Mangrove restoration project in collaboration with the ministry of environment and climate change and MSE Foundation, has so far planted 90,000 mangrove plants around Qatar in the two years since its launch.
• Solar systems are present in Qatar with 1gw installed with 1gw being installed by 2029 which will then increase the country’s renewable capacity to 30% , with the country’s plan being on utility scale plans and as such smaller residential panels are not seen around the cities due to the majority rental housing complexes. Citizen households are implementing solar systems in their secondary houses and farms.
• GCC has invested in humanitarian aid projects regarding climate change such as the Qatar Fund for Development building schools with solar and building smart fisheries near Nairobi with the sustainability aspect being the priority.
• Climate migration is difficult to quantify since they come from areas of security conflict where it intersects and blurs the line between the economic, climate, and security migration..
• Lack of education results in a lack of skills in the market to enforce the new policies and implement economic plans. Increasing the skills levels and investment in capacity building can help, ministries of education and higher education can invest in this area.