By Elishya Perera
Doha, QATAR (CU)_COP26 President-Designate Alok Sharma commended Qatar’s commitment towards tackling climate change, during his visit to the Gulf nation on Sunday (28 March).
Participating in a meeting with Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani and several other government officials, Sharma discussed green finance, clean energy growth and several other spheres of climate action, ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), which will be hosted by the UK in November.
“Qatar holds enormous potential as a key player in the fight against climate change,” Sharma said. “I welcome His Highness the Amir’s commitment to tackling one of the most pressing crises of our time, and innovative efforts to drive forward a cleaner, greener future. I look forward to continued constructive conversations with Qatari leaders on the road to COP26 in Glasgow.”
According to a statement issued by the UK embassy in Doha, the visit of the summit’s President-Designate comes as Qatar has begun updating its Nationally Determined Contributions. These are measures which countries commit to under the UN COP process in order to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
The statement noted that during his visit, Sharma also met with the Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad Sherida al-Kaabi. He learnt about the Gulf nation’s advances and ambitions on renewable energy and electric vehicles. Qatar has set a target for a transition to 100 per cent electric vehicles in public transport by 2030.
As part of his visit, the British politician held talks with members of the Qatar Foundation and the Arab Youth Climate Movement, during which he discussed the need to involve young people in the planning and hosting of COP26.
“We are delighted that Alok Sharma has chosen Qatar as his first country to visit in the Gulf region in his capacity as CPD,” British ambassador to Qatar Jon Wilks said. “Today’s series of meetings has shown Qatar’s commitment to combating the effects of climate change and how the country is gearing up to make a meaningful contribution to COP26 through a revised NDC.”
He added that Qatar’s commitment to reduce emissions is praiseworthy, and that London looks forward to partnering with Doha on climate-related initiatives.
