Qatar has world's worst eco record - WWF

Posted by: Frustrated in Qatar Wednesday, 16 May 2012 4:09 PM[UAE] - qatar

As a Canadian expat working for the Qatar State Oil Company I am very disappointed and frustrated in the apathy towards conservation and sustainability in Qatar.
There is no recycling program, we all drink 350ml bottles of water all day, print every email and document and at the end of the day throw it all in the trash, our office buildings are not built to international standards and are not energy efficient at all and we have no employee wellness program or incentives for fitness and conservation.

What is ironic is we seem to sponsor a different HSE conference or initiative every month but don't practice what we preach at all!

Posted by: Doug Wednesday, 16 May 2012 12:41 PM[UAE] - UAE

Green buildings are a step forward but won't resolve the underlying issue - human behaviour. Not living in Qatar, I can't state with certainty what lifestyles are like, but if it's anything like the UAE, you'll have sprinklers wetting down parks in the middle of the day, people driving cars everywhere, and a population that never switches off the lights or the TV. As long as water, fuel and electricity remain subsidised and cheap, there is no incentive for anyone to reduce their consumption.

Posted by: kingkaiser Monday, 21 May 2012 2:06 PM[UAE] - UAE

@ Siraj: Telcoguy said it well. It shows lack of concern for the future of the country.
Also, who do you think is subsidizing this "right to cheap electricity and water"? DEWA generates substantial profits every single year, which means someone is paying higher rates than they otherwise would to allow another segment of the population to abuse and waste resources. Connect the dots...

Posted by: Telcoguy Friday, 18 May 2012 5:46 PM[UAE] - UAE

@Siraj, help yourself.
"There is a big danger facing the water reserves in the UAE," said Khalid bin Zayed, the chairman of the committee in charge of foreign relations, planning, agriculture and mineral wealth. "Therefore, we have taken up the issue of water resources."

Mr bin Zayed's committee will present a report on the country's water resources to the FNC today. Rashid Ahmed bin Fahad, the Minister of Environment and Water, will respond.

"The UAE [has] limited water resources," Mr bin Zayed said.

You may use all the water you feel like. If you do not care about the future of your country, you can be assured that I care even less and I will certainly not be around when you run out of water. I pity the guys here who are trying to take a long term view.
Cheers

Posted by: Siraj Thursday, 17 May 2012 3:23 PM[UAE] - UAE

Shouldnt they have the right to cheap electricity and water in their own country? Also their lifestyle is different, they need large homes and more than one car so obviously more water and electricity will be used. The average expat comes to the Gulf to save, and can live on a cheap lifestyle, so our consumption will be less also.

Posted by: kingkaiser Thursday, 17 May 2012 11:54 AM[UAE] - UAE

Aye - as an interesting aside, in Dubai, the average Emirati consumes 5x the water and electricity of an expat. Roughly speaking, it means that 20% of the population consumes MORE than the other 80%.
Subsidies aren't necessarily a bad thing, unless they make something so cheap that its abused.

Posted by: Mohammed Azad Hossain Tuesday, 15 May 2012 2:48 PM[UAE] - Kuwiat

Qatar should follow USGBC - LEED or Estidma - UAE for their development and Construction projects. They have enough money and they can reduce their carbon footprint building Zer-Carbon facilities and sustainable buildings for the next generaion.

Posted by: babu Tuesday, 15 May 2012 6:36 PM[UAE] - Qatar

Lots of initiatives are already in progress.
- Most of the new government funded developments are expected to be LEED certified as per governement directive.
- All LNG and other gas refining plants have been forced to cut NOX and other emissions to extremely low levels.
I believe Qatar is leading the way in a lot of these initiatives in the hydrocarbon sector in the GCC. But, still lot to learn and improve.