Qatar Aims to Make the First Carbon-Neutral World Cup in History

The State of Qatar has announced that the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which will start next November, will witness the application of sustainable and environmentally friendly technology, making this edition the first carbon-neutral World Cup in the history of the game.

The State of Qatar has confirmed that it pays great attention to the phenomenon of climate change, as it has allocated special attention to it within the framework of its National Vision 2030, which made the preservation and development of the environment one of the four main pillars. From this vision, noting that it has taken many measures in this regard to preserve the environment and natural resources. It has adopted a number of projects that contribute to preserving the environment by reducing carbon dioxide emissions and relying on renewable energy sources.

Qatar aims to bring carbon emissions to zero, by reducing them to the lowest level possible, before offsetting the remaining number of emissions by buying carbon credits.

The Qatar project works to replace non-renewable resources with renewable energy from renewable natural sources such as sunlight and wind, which reduces harmful emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide.

The project to reduce carbon emissions includes the reuse and recycling of water and materials, the installation of highly efficient cooling systems, the use of renewable energy such as solar panels in stadium lighting, and the planting of green areas surrounding the stadiums using local trees and plants.

There are efforts by the Supreme Committee to reduce the carbon footprint of the World Cup, represented in the achievement of two World Cup stadiums in Qatar with the Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) certificate, where Education City Stadium received, last January, a five-star sustainability rating, becoming the first World Cup stadium to receive this prestigious classification, followed by Al Bayt Stadium after obtaining the same classification last July.

Solar energy will be used to operate the tournament stadiums, where the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation "KAHRAMAA" is developing a huge solar power plant with a capacity of 800 megawatts, covering an area of 10 square kilometers. The project continues its work after the end of the World Cup competitions to generate clean and renewable energy that will last for decades, leaving a tangible legacy within projects to reduce carbon emissions and to continue working towards achieving carbon neutrality for the tournament.

Qatar also launched an initiative in March 2019 to plant one million trees and renewed its commitment last October to plant this number before the start of the World Cup.

The Qatar Green Building Council launched the eco-friendly house project in 2009 as part of Project Qatar 2021, which aims to use renewable energy in residential facilities and service complexes, or the type of plants that can be grown at home, which can contribute to reducing temperatures, and thus Rationalizing energy consumption in air conditioners and refrigeration equipment.