Achieving Green Building in Qatar through Legal and Fiscal Tools

Abstract

In the midst of both a multi-State blockade of Qatar and the urgency to complete major building projects in time to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the limits of Qatar’s resource sustainability have been tested. The State of Qatar is the world’s highest per capita consumer of water and emitter of CO2 emissions. Qatar is also at considerable risk of becoming an unlivable nation if the global temperature change targets of the Paris Agreement are breached. National law and policy seek to address this by promoting sustainability and focusing on reducing consumption, though such efforts are commonly overwhelmed by the enormity of the construction projects. This article considers how the advancement of green building can provide multiple dividends in Qatar by enabling reduced resource consumption and producing less waste. LEED® certified “green” buildings consume between 10% and 25% less energy and 11% less water and emit 34% lower greenhouse gases than similar conventional buildings. The article analyses Qatar’s law and policy approaches and available options. It further examines comparative law and policy models in the UK to explore how compatible such measures would be in Qatar. It concludes with possible legal and policy options available, assessing how effective such measures may work if transplanted into and/or adapted by Qatar.