Qatar s Hosting of COP18 Historic Event-GCC Delegates

Doha, December 03 (QNA) -Chief delegates of the Gulf Cooperation Council GCC to the UN Climate Change COP18 , underway in Doha, have agreed that Qatar s hosting of the conference is a significant, historic event for the region, and especially for Qatar, providing an opportunity for countries in the area to showcase their endeavors towards mitigating the impact of climate change. Dr Adel Khlalifa Al Zayani, the director of Environment And Wildlife Department at the Marine Life and Environment Authority in Bahrain said Qatar has gained a leading experience in hosting large international congregations, praising Qatar s playing the venue for the current UN Climate Change COP18. He said he hoped the conference will represent a fresh addition in the world s efforts to limit gas emissions, noting that participants are progressing on various levels to set a roadmap for future work and agreements extending Kyoto Protocol s second phase. Al Zayani said GCC countries have gone strides in limiting gas emissions abiding by environment rules. Countries in the area have taken many initiatives to find new sources for renewable energy such as solar and wind energy, he said. He cited as a leading experience HH Sheikha Moza s launching of the first solar test facility at Qatar Scientific and Technology Park on the sidelines of the conference on Sunday. Bahrain will soon launch a big project in the field, he said , noting that cooperation among GCC countries in this sector is voluntary emanating from their belief in the need to promote world efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change. Al Zayani expressed the hope for a successful end to the UN Climate Change COP18, noting that there no substantive differences so far that might preclude an overall agreement. Dr Thani Ahmed Al Zayoudi, the director of energy affairs and climate change at the UAE Foreign Ministry said COP18 furnishes an opportunity for regional countries to explain their efforts towards easing the impact of climate change, and their programs and achievements in the field which usually are streamlined with those of developed countries to encounter the challenge collectively. Hosting the event for the first time in the Middle East is also a chance to help develop national and regional strategies in the efforts to fight climate change, he said. The UAE is supporting Qatar s efforts to bring closer the views of participants towards reaching a successful outcome at the conference, he said. Al Zayoudi referred to several initiatives in GCC countries promoting renewable energy projects and finding renewable energy sources, citing the UAEs financing of a solar energy project in Mauritania with a 15megawatt capacity and other similar projects in Afghanistan and African countries . Saudi Arabia will also launch a big solar energy project by 2032, he noted. For his part, Ali Abbas Haidar, the deputy director of environment supervision affairs department in Kuwait said that political and economic tendencies have evolved obstructing, willingly or unwillingly the progress of environment efforts. The initial tendency was environmental but turned now to be much politico-economic and much less environmental. This fact is impacting the progress of the negotiations, he said. Haidar underlined the significance of coordinating GCC efforts in this sector and the importance of having a clear role.(END)