The importance of biodiversity and tackling climate change was explored at an event jointly organised on Tuesday by the Earthna Center for a Sustainable Future, a member of the Qatar Foundation, and the United States Embassy in Qatar.
As a tribute to Earth Day a film screening and discussion around the importance of environmental preservation and meeting the challenges of climate change, was held at Multaqa (Education City Student).
US Ambassador to Qatar H E Timmy T. Davis, and Executive Director of Earthna, Dr. Gonzalo Castro de la Mata addressing the audiences highlighted the importance of biodiversity, environmental preservation, and meeting the challenges of climate change in Qatar and the United States.
Also two clips of Last Call for the Bayou, a docuseries which explores the social and environmental realities of living along the Louisiana coast – were screened during the event.
Ambassador Davis calls Louisiana home and he said, “My hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana has felt the effects of climate change firsthand, in the terrible Hurricane Katrina of 2005. With generous help from our Qatari friends, the city was rebuilt, but global action is still needed to protect communities from New Orleans to Doha and beyond.”
“That’s why the US Embassy partners with organizations like Earthna, as part of US -Qatar collaboration on sustainability and energy transition,” he added.
Speaking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of the event, Ambassador Davis said that discussions are important to find real solutions to the climate change challenges.
“We feel the pressure of getting our response to climate change right. So it won’t simply be about politicians saying words about what we should all do. It will be about finding real solutions. It will be about environmental justice because disproportionately it is the poor, it is the unhoused.
It is minority communities that are harmed by climate change. So this (Earth Day) is an opportunity to talk about it openly one that I think we look forward to."
Ambassador Davis and Dr. Castro de la Mata also took part in a panel discussion, during which they explored how climate change affects the environment in both Qatar and the United States.
“The discussion we had around climate change and the importance of preserving unique habitats and ecosystems builds on an integral part of Earthna’s work here in Qatar, the region, and the world. Through events like this and others including Qatar Sustainability Week, we aim to raise community awareness of the impact that natural and man-made events can have on our environment. It was a pleasure to collaborate with the US Embassy on this event and welcome so many members of the public to participate in these valuable and impactful discussions.”