How Qatar is putting sustainability at the heart of its economy

Joining the fight against climate change and empowering future generations to take meaningful action: Qatar is putting sustainability at the forefront of its economic growth strategy.  The initiatives include investing in solar power, establishing a sustainable supply of food and water and organising clean-up initiatives which preserve the country's heritage and raise environmental awareness. 

One of Qatar's pledges is to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 24% and use 20% of its energy through solar power by 2030. But how exactly does a country with so much sun harness that power into energy? The Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute is on the case.

QEERI’s outdoor solar testing facility is a sprawling site, and it's where Dr Ben Figgis goes to work every day. He and his team look after all the research on solar energy QEERI is conducting at this site, to find the best ways to utilise the sun.

"These solar panels you're seeing behind me," he tells us while showing off a vast array of panels. "You simply put them in the sun and the silicon diodes, they start producing energy all by themselves. It's really one of the miracles of material science. So, what we want to be doing is testing all the different technologies, because how they perform in one climate might be different from how they perform in another climate.

Qatar’s solar industry has grown rapidly in the last few years, boosted by billions of dollars in investment in renewable energy. These solar panels are part of a 35,000m2 facility, a test bed for what will power up Qatar’s economy into a cleaner, greener future.

The sun shines all year round in Qatar, with summer months getting up to 14 hours of daylight. But that doesn’t necessarily mean solar power comes