Amir announces $100m to tackle climate change

New York: Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has said that Qatar, as hosting country of FIFA World Cup 2022, is committed to organising an environment-friendly tournament and the first carbon neutral tournament through the use of solar-powered stadiums and the use of cooling and lighting technology that is water and energy-saving.

H H the Amir also announced yesterday the State of Qatar’s contribution of $100m for the support of small developing island states and the least developed states to deal with the climate change, natural hazards, environmental challenges and to build the capacity to counter their destructive effects.

H H the Amir took part in the UN Climate Action Summit 2019, which was held by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the UN headquarters in New York yesterday, in conjunction with convening the 74th session of the UN General Assembly, in the presence of a number of heads and leaders of the world and representatives of civil society organisations and institutions concerned with the environment internationally.

H H the Amir participated in the Climate Finance and Carbon Pricing Coalition session alongside the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Jamaica, Andrew Holness.

H H the Amir delivered a speech, in which His Highness said: “At the outset, it gives me pleasure to thank His Excellency the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, for his appreciated efforts in preparing and organizing this important summit. The phenomenon of climate change is undoubtedly one of the serious challenges of our time. It is a problem that is continuously exacerbating and causing many problems which intertwine in their economic, environmental and social dimensions and have very serious negative repercussions on all forms of life including human life and on both developed and developing countries alike, especially on the tracks of the sustainable development which all peoples aspire to.”

“This serious phenomenon makes it incumbent upon the international community to cooperate and double efforts to confront it and reduce its repercussions. It is sufficient for us to look at the devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas and the suffering of its population to realise the dire need for such cooperation.” 

H H the Amir said that all states must fulfil their responsibilities and honour their commitments which international agreements have established to this effect.

“The State of Qatar has assumed its responsibility as an active partner in the international community to confront the climate change phenomenon. In 2012, it hosted the Eighteenth Session of the Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Doha Carbon and Energy Forum, in which international experts participated to develop public policy recommendations for this sector and for governments on climate change and alternative energy, and carbon capture and storage. P2