Dr. Al Horr stressed, “Qatar, therefore, can play a pivotal role in capacity building for the global players and countries and can encourage cooperative approaches under Article 6.2 between countries to help them raise international finance to support each other’s nationally determined contributions (NDCs).” He added that despite the global trends that promote carbon markets as a major catalyst for achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, their polarization in the Middle East and North Africa region was relatively slow, so the GCC launched the first voluntary carbon market in the region, and it is now the only voluntary carbon market. outside first-world countries, to bridge this gap.
He pointed out that GCC is playing its part by operating the global GHG Program approved under the scheme referred to as “Carbon Offsetting and Reduction for International Aviation (CORSIA)” of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and International Carbon Reduction and Offsetting Alliance (ICROA). He explained that the program deals with carbon offsets benefiting a wide range of greenhouse gas reduction projects including those launched in the Gulf and MENA region.
After the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt reached a breakthrough agreement to provide “loss and damage” funding – funded by industrialized countries – for vulnerable countries hit hard by climate disasters, he explained that the fund is a pivotal step toward a world without carbon emissions, adding that the harmful effects of global warming are not evenly distributed as the countries that caused the least amount of damage are the most vulnerable to natural disasters. He underlined that the world leaders achieved a historic decision in COP27 by establishing a fund to compensate for the losses and damages suffered by poor countries to provide climate justice for all in need.
Dr. Al Horr pointed out the operation of this fund involves complex and interrelated challenges that are scheduled to be addressed at the COP28, hoping that the upcoming climate conference will have a real impact in quickly funding the fund to support affected communities.
The Qatar Economic Forum 2023 discussed, in one of its sessions, how countries of the world can achieve a profitable and equitable transition to a low-carbon economy, during which they discussed the future of green business and the rapidly evolving scene of standards, goals, technologies, and investments that work to achieve net zero.
During the session, the speakers confirmed progress at the level of countries as well as at the level of companies, especially in terms of setting goals and commitment to reaching the goal of net zero, reviewing the experiences of South Asian countries, especially Malaysia, where the focus is on trying to achieve a net-zero economy.
Source: Qatar News Agency
