Air Pollution and Climate Change in Qatar - Essay Example

Air Pollution and Climate Change in Qatar Author’s Name Institutional affiliation Date Tutor Introduction Climate change refers to the changes that have been taking place in climate patterns in the world. Scientists started noticing these changes as from middle of the 20th Century. The reasons that have been advanced for climate change include increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The atmospheric carbon has been attributed largely to fossil fuels. The 18th Session of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change took place in the Qatari capital, Doha, in the year 2012. Qatar ranks third globally in terms of known natural gas reserves. Qatar is almost entirely surrounded by water in the Persian Gulf (Richer, 2008). The fact that Qatar has huge deposits of fossil fuels and also the fact that it occupies the Qatar Peninsular means that that the issue of climate change are extremely important for this nation. This essay shall examine the issue of air pollution and climate change in Qatar. The essay shall also look into the effects of climate change in Qatar, how Qatar would be affected by rise in the sea level, and finally what steps should be taken to control pollution in Qatar. Discussion There has been significant increase in pollution levels in Qatar. Since the year 2007 there has been a marked increase in the number of air pollutant in Doha, the Qatari capital. The pollutants include sand and dust. These result from the rising number of construction projects as well as the manufacturing industry (Richer, 2008). The transportation industry also takes a share of the blame for the dwindling levels of air quality in Qatar. Between 2000 and 2010 the number of vehicles increased by 100% and this increase continues to date. The transport industry is responsible for producing substances which deplete the ozone. Specific increase has been recorded for sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides and the levels of these gases are expected to increase as a natural consequence of the increased number of cars on the roads. The rise in the so called "greenhouse gases" and other forms of pollution portend a bleak future for the otherwise economically stable gulf nation. Effects of climate change in Qatar Climate change has led to a number of significant effects in Qatar. The marine ecosystems have been negatively affected and this has placed them under a substantial stress. Due to increase in temperatures corals have died while some species are showing signs of adapting to the climate which is becoming warmer and warmer (Riegl, 2003). Sea levels are also projected to rise. Major change in climate would result in loss of plants and animals in Qatar. Temperatures are projected to rise and this means that agricultural activities shall become almost impossible to undertake. This would appear to what would be referred to as desertification of the desert. The few water supplies in existence face a threat (Richer, 2008). The rate of water usage has increased to levels that are not less than six times of the natural renewable rate and this seems to suggest that is just a matter of time before aquifers get depleted. More and more which is being used is obtained through desalination. The desalination plants further harms the environment since the process results in chemical, gases as well as trace elements being released into the environment. Qatar's is almost entirely dependent on exports from oil and gas. Many countries all over the world are looking for ways through which they can lessen dependence on fossil fuels. In confronting climate change, Qatar would have to put into consideration the economic impact. Combustion of fossil fuels is the main contributor of carbon dioxide which is single largest green house gas (Pandya & Michel, 2009). If countries implement measures to depend less on clean and renewable energy, then economy of Qatar stands to suffer. How Qatar would be affected by sea level rise Climate change is likely to result in rises in the sea level. Qatar is surrounded almost entirely by water and higher sea level would spell doom to almost its entire coastline. This would pose a great risk to buildings which are found at the coastal areas. Cases of flooding are likely to increase. The flooding would be caused by changes in the oceans which would result in more frequent and more intense storms in areas around the coast (Raouf, 2009). In addition to destruction of property and infrastructure, rise in the sea level would displace hundreds of thousands if not millions of people from their homes. Climate change would result in severe inland flooding in Qatar. A significant portion of Qatar's land area and at least 10% of Qatari population live in areas which are five metres or less above the sea levels. Rising sea levels would result in severe strain on marine life and curtail sources of clean water since desalination plants which supply water to the country are found in the coastal areas. Steps to control pollution Qatar in addition to other countries in the gulf region should confront the challenge of climate change. Qatar would need to move towards use of renewable energy to try and reduce the effects of fossil fuels. It paramount that Qatar invests a lot of resources in ways to ensure that it is energy efficient, use clean technology in production and also make more and more use of clean energy. A precedent has already been in Abu Dhabi with Masdar City which is expected to utilize only solar energy once complete by the year 2025. Qatar in addition to other Gulf countries are already investing a lot of resource in an initiative known as the Clean Development Mechanism. This project is aimed at coming up with solutions to the climate change (Raouf, 2009). The project aims to come with mechanism to capture and store carbon which bears the greatest blame for rise in greenhouse gases. Qatar faces challenges when it comes to confronting climate change. Due to lack of arable land and insufficient water resource it is difficult to come up with green areas, carbon sinks and forests. There have been insufficient investments in public awareness, monitoring and implementation of measures relevant to climate change. Qatar should therefore deal with this anomaly by investing in mechanisms to monitor various issues related to climate change. Qatar should come up with realistic target with respect to reduction of green house gas emissions. This would entail establishing, maintaining and making improvements to registries dealing with reductions in emission (Pandya & Michel, 2009). The Qatari government should put in place policies which encourage the uptake of clean and renewable energy. There should be incentives for those people and organizations which undertake to use clean technology. Qatar would need to revise its water use policy. Water usage for agriculture consumes a lot of water which is not very good for a country which has very limited water resources. Qatar depends on desalinated water (Riegl, 2003). Desalination plants depend on oil exports and the revenues fluctuate in addition to resulting in problems to the environment. It is evident that desalination cannot be eliminated in Qatar and the solution lies in finding ways of reducing costs of desalination and use of desalination technologies which are friendlier to the environment. The government of Qatar should find ways through which ground water resources can be used sustainably. Cutting emissions should be a priority for the government of Qatar. The government of Qatar launched the Al-Shaheen Oilfield Gas Recovery and Utilization Project. The project aims to reduce the gas that had been previously flared. The project is aimed at utilizing the gas for production of power and generating heat. This would result in only a tiny fraction of gas being flared and greatly reduce green house gas emissions (Pandya & Michel, 2009). Conclusion Climate change is now a reality in the world. Many countries are already reeling from the effects of the phenomenon of climate change. Qatar is one of the countries that sits in a precarious position with respect to climate change. Levels of air pollution have risen in Qatar and the problem appears likely to get worse since the country is developing at a very high rate. There are serious consequences for Qatar such as rise in the sea level, reduction in usable water, and likely destruction to infrastructure. The Qatari government can only avert the serious threat posed by climate change through implementation of very far reaching changes. It is therefore advisable that the government of Qatar invests in renewable energy and finds ways of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. A lot of resources need to be used in combating the monster that is climate change. Collaboration with other countries is very important. The projects aimed at combating climate change are bound to cost a lot of money. Through jointly funded projects, the costs would be greatly reduced per country. Qatar would therefore in a better position to meet its challenges by collaborating with other Gulf nations which face similar climatic challenges. References Pandya, A., & Michel, D. (2009). Climate Change, Hyropolitics, and Transboundary Resources.Washington: Henry L. Stimson Center. Raouf, M. A. (2009). Water Policies in the GCC Countries. In Gulf Yearbook 2008-09 (pp. 297–310). Dubai: Gulf Research Center. Richer, R. (2008). Conservation in Qatar: Impacts of Increasing Industrialization. Qatar: Center for International and Regional Studies - Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. Riegl, B. (2003). Climate change and coral reefs: different effects in two high-latitude areas (Arabian Gulf, South Africa). Coral Reefs, 22, 433–446. Read More