His Excellency Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, chaired the regular meeting held by the Council this afternoon at its headquarters in the Emiri Diwan.

Following the meeting, His Excellency Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie, Minister of Municipality and Environment and Acting Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, made the following statements:

At the beginning of the meeting, the Council listened to the explanation given by His Excellency the Minister of Public Health on the latest developments to limit the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), and the Council stressed the continuation of work with the measures and precautionary measures that have been taken in order to combat this epidemic.

After that, the Council of Ministers considered the topics on the agenda as follows:

First - Approval of the national plan for climate change.

The preparation of the strategic plan comes as a commitment from the State of Qatar to combat climate change through diversifying its economy, building capabilities, optimally exploiting natural resources, and enacting the necessary legislation and regulations for this. Within the framework of these efforts, a comprehensive national action plan on climate change was developed in coordination with more than 50 entities within the country. This plan sets goals at the national level to confront climate change through more than 35 mitigation initiatives and more than 300 adaptation initiatives.

This plan is an integral part of the country's strategic plans, as it is one of the main pillars of achieving Qatar National Vision 2030 and is in line with the sustainable development goals of the United Nations and Qatar's ambition to achieve a leadership position in the region through contributions to mitigate emissions.

In this context, there are existing national projects that adopt concrete measures to reduce emissions, by establishing the largest carbon capture and storage station in the Middle East and North Africa, improving the efficiency of hydrocarbon treatment, launching a rationalization program to reduce electricity and water consumption, and constructing a solar power plant with a capacity of 800 megawatts.

The State of Qatar plays a pivotal role in supporting developing countries in their fight against the effects of climate change, including what was announced by His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of the country, "may God protect him", during His Highness' speech at the Climate Action Summit 2019 from The State of Qatar’s contribution of $100 million to support small island developing states and least developed countries to deal with climate change, natural hazards and environmental challenges, and build capacity to confront their devastating effects.

The Qatar Investment Authority also has a major role in the climate change plan, as it is a founding member of the "One Planet" initiative to promote green investments.

Second - agree to:

1. A draft partnership agreement between the government of the State of Qatar and the International Peace Institute.
2. A draft memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of adaptation to climate change and green growth between the Ministry of Municipality and Environment in the State of Qatar and the Global Green Growth Institute.

Third - The Council of Ministers reviewed the following two issues and took the appropriate decision:

1. Annual reports on the activities of the Qatar Financial Markets Authority and its financial position.
2. The results of the fifth meeting of the Ministerial Committee for Food Safety in the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf.

Source: Qatar News Agency
Cover image: Shutterstock

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