Doha ranked in Top 10 Emerging Sustainable Cities

Doha has been ranked amongst the Top 10 Emerging Sustainable Cities to watch in 2012. Photo: Getty

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Doha has been ranked as one of the '10 Emerging Sustainable Cities to watch in 2012' by an American green energy advocacy, it was announced earlier this week.

The list was compiled by Leon Kaye, founder and editor of GreenGoPost.com, and ranks the Qatari capital alongside Seoul, San Jose, Detroit, Adelaide, Brasilia, Naples, Mexico City, Belgrade and Accra for its eco-energy initiatives.

“As more cities push their green agendas the way they promote business opportunities or local tourism, some cities are way ahead of others,” he observed.

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FEATURED COMMENT Interesting to read as I only associate Masdar with sustainable cities in the Gulf region. There are more and more signs   1 Comments Read more comments »

The progress underway in the short-listed cities will inspire other civil societies to learn from their example, Kaye said.

“Whether they benefit from visionary leaders, flourishing social enterprise, or commitment from community activists, the 10 cities in the list are well worth a visit to experience their transformation and resilience,” Kaye added.

Speaking specifically about Doha, he said that the Qatari capital had a long term focus in its planning, which boded well for its future.

“With the understanding that oil may eventually disappear, but the sun shall always stick around, Doha has ramped up investment in solar technologies, green building and public transportation,” he said.

“Watch for Doha to grow as an innovation laboratory, and start tackling its carbon footprint – which leaves Qatar with the highest per capita rate of CO₂ emissions in the world,” Kaye added.

Sustainability has increasingly become a buzzword in Qatar, with a number of organisations taking a major leading role in supporting the adoption, legislation and implementation of green building practices throughout the country.

In an interview with the Qatari newspaper, Issa al Mohannadi, chairman of Qatar Green Building Council (QGBC), said that he hoped the council would play a more active role in the adoption of green building practices.

“We seek an increase in sharing cross cultural experiences through collaboration with fellow green building councils across the world. We look to realise our efforts in promoting sustainable practices and hope Qatari businesses imbibe these as the core of their infrastructure, right from the planning stage,” he added.

Qatar Solar Technologies (QSTec) announced recently that it would be building a $1bn plant at Ras Laffan to make polysilicon, the much sought after raw material used in the manufacturer of solar cells.

The plant, with a production capacity of 8,000 metric tonnes per year of high-purity solar grade polysilicon is scheduled to start operations in 2013.