Image Source: FAO Aquastat, Oxford Analytica   The Middle East is one of the most water-stressed regions in the world. This region is home to 15 out of the 20 of the world’s most water-scarce countries, (FAO, 2022). The region’s water resources are already under pressure from several factors, including population growth, climate change, and […]

  Noted as one of the ‘World’s 100 Most Influential People in Climate Policy 2019,’ Neeshad is looking to the future with the Arab Youth Climate Movement Qatar, a grassroots non-profit organisation he co-founded. Neeshad told The Dialogue that the Middle East region “is one of the worst impacted by climate change,” with action needed […]

The Government Communications Office (GCO) has today launched the seventh edition of Q Life Magazine. Titled Qataris Abroad, this edition celebrates Qatar’s growing role on the global stage – from the fields of arts and fashion to sports and diplomacy. The latest Q Life Magazine showcases the impact Qatar is making beyond its borders, sharing inspiring […]

Over the past three decades, temperature increases in Qatar have been accelerating. That’s because of the uneven nature of climate change as well as the surge in construction that drives local climate conditions around Doha, the capital. The temperatures are also rising because Qatar, slightly smaller than Connecticut, juts out from Saudi Arabia into the […]

Representatives from almost 200 countries met in Marrakech over two weeks for the latest annual climate change conference, COP22, which was viewed as an opportunity to showcase progress and commence the important process of turning the COP21 Paris Agreement into a detailed plan of action. But the election of Donald Trump as the future president […]

Over the past six months, Earth Talks Qatar has gained a reputation for attracting leading academics, thinkers and activists from all over the world. Knowledge of environmental issues and sustainability is increasingly important as industrialisation and climate change continue to wreak havoc in our ecosystems and psyche. As temperatures rise and icecaps shrink and storms […]

THE new era of protectionism, marked by the United States’ withdrawal from the landmark Paris Accord on climate change, will make things worse in the coming years. The move follows weeks of arguing within the administration and ally countries, both for and against the pact. Unfortunately, the brunt of this will be faced by our […]

Environmental activism is not the first idea that springs to mind when thinking about Gulf countries. This is precisely what drove Neeshad Shafi from Doha, Qatar, to launch the Arab Youth Climate Movement in Qatar (AYCMQA) in 2015. “I realized that most people in the region were barely aware of the existence, or the magnitude, of the […]

If want to begin to comprehend just how far – reaching an issue climate change is, how many stakeholders need to come together to make it work and what kind of broad impact this kind of coordinated action can have, just pop into any climate conference. It’s a cantankerous coming together of government officials, policymakers, […]

The Youth Assembly at the United Nations is a global gathering of youth leaders, social entrepreneurs and activists, aimed at empowering youth to become active agents of sustainable development. Now in its 15th year, the 2017 Summer Youth Assembly was recently held at the UN Headquarters in New York City. The four-day Assembly that coincided […]

Every year, June 5, is celebrated as World Environment Day which is the UN’s initiative for creating global awareness. When it comes to protecting the environment, Qatar is on a par with global organisations, and one of the groups that has taken the lead in this is Arab Youth Climate Movement Qatar (AYCM-Q). AYCM-Q was […]

Climate change is one of the greatest threats facing humanity. The IPCC’s recent report on global warming shows how no country is immune to the effects of climate change, including the Arab world. The region’s geological and ecological particularity puts it at a high risk of water scarcity, food insecurity, drought, heat waves, disease and many other […]

A young Indian expatriate represented Qatar in the World Economic Forum (WEF) recently held in Davos, Switzerland as one of the 50 Global Shapers invited every year at the forum. Neeshad Shafi, a member of the Global Shaper Doha Hub, along with the shapers from other parts of the world raised important issues from responding […]

At a time when young people everywhere are marching to demand action on climate, it’s more important than ever to celebrate and support those with the most power to act: the people driving tangible policy change. Drawing on hundreds of nominations from experts and leading organisations, this list celebrates politicians, civil servants, academics and activists. […]

Pathways toward improved regional cooperation in the Middle East are rarely smooth, and the road towards environmental and climate action is no exception. Rarely benefiting from high-level political attention or a surplus of resources, environmental issues have been too easily pushed to the sidelines due to other regional priorities. However, a recent series of dire […]