A side event held during the 2019 UN Climate Change Conference in Madrid, Spain, showcased innovative low-carbon technologies in various industries ranging from sports and food to aviation and construction. Participants discussed the ways in which further deployment of such technologies could contribute to a climate-friendly future, and highlighted Qatar’s national planning that balances environmental protection with development goals.

The event titled, ‘Technology to Meet Climate Change Challenges and Creating Value from CO2,’ took place on 4 December 2019.

Shashi Prakash, Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, 2022 Qatar World Cup, spoke about sustainable cooling technology being used in Qatar’s 2022 stadiums, which will be repurposed after the event for schools and other public spaces. He mentioned the Committee’s sustainability plan, including a gender support network to promote girls’ football skills, a worker welfare programme, and an innovation and entrepreneurship for economic and human development platform.

Representatives from Solar Cookers International (SCI) highlighted: large-scale use of solar cookers in India, using solar-to-steam cooking systems to make food for up to 50,000 people per day; benefits of solar cooking, including no emissions and a reduction in respiratory illnesses caused by smoke inhalation; and that solar cookers have reduced carbon emissions by 27 million tons. They also called on Parties to include solar cookers in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

The event also addressed:

• mitigating climate change in the aviation industry in Qatar and a roadmap for zero-carbon growth in aviation, including through retrofitting aircraft and improving airports; and
• a new material called CarbonFiberStone (CFS), a combination of carbon and granite, which could replace steel, aluminum and concrete, that can also be deconstructed through carbon capture and storage (CCS).

The event was organized by Qatar’s Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME). [IISD RS Coverage of Side Event] [MME Website] [SCI Website]

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IISD Reporting Services is providing coverage of selected side events during the UN Climate Change Conference in Madrid.