The first thing that most people think of when they hear “Qatar” is probably the upcoming 2022 world cup held in the sunny emirate in Asia. However, Messi’s dribble in July isn’t the only joyful thing we’re expecting from the country.

September 21st, New York City. UN assembly. On the podium: Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar. In his speech, he mentions issues concerning the middle east, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Iran nuclear deal, the Syrian humanitarian crisis, and the Taliban taking over Afghanistan. He expressed his concerns regarding these topics and spoke about climate change, an issue that is seldom heard from leaders outside the western world.

The Qatari Emir spoke about the melting of icebergs, the raging fires in California and emphasized that this is the war that the world must unite against. Typically, world leaders are prominent with words. Still, as skeptics, as we were, a simple fact-checking showed Qatar is also significant with actions. They present plans and national projects explicitly addressing the issue to donate their part in the International fight, and they didn’t start today.

It is a known fact that Qatar signed the Kyoto Protocol in 2005 and the Paris Climate Agreement in 2017. In addition, Qatar is a member of the International Renewable Energy Agency, which supports countries in the transition towards sustainable energy use, investing hundreds of millions in sustainability projects worldwide.

But In the local field, a trip to Doha can be a real treat to the green tourist. Just look at the country’s plans towards the most viewed sports tournament in the world;
A shift in 25% of the public transit fleet of buses to electric/eco-friendly buses is expected by 2022. Electric buses are planned to be used during the World Cup. Establishing many major stations for electric buses, as well as 2,700 bus stops.

It seems like Qatar is working to create a country that is a green lounge in the middle east, as they’re having a “green makeover” in the past years in almost every aspect. “Education City” in Qatar has the largest PV pipeline in the country for generating solar energy. Oxygen Park – a 130,000sqm ‘green lung’ within Education City – and Qur’anic Botanic Garden in Qatar, home to around 60 plant species.
The National Program for Conservation and Energy Efficiency “Tarsheed” successfully reduced carbon emissions by 4.4 million tons during 2019.

The Qatar Green Building Council focuses on conducting and deploying environmentally sustainable practices to design and develop green buildings in Qatar. Next to these expensive and enormous projects, the emirate is also wholly transforming its metro and tram. Over the next 20 years, the Doha Metro and Lusail Tram will result in a net saving of 19,844,529 tCO2 emitted from Qatar’s existing road-based transportation system.

It Is very encouraging to find out that the climate crisis and sustainability are not the property of the Western world. Nevertheless, the crisis is real, and we hope more and more countries will join the struggle.
Until then, let’s enjoy what seems to be the greenest World Cup so far.