Free-market Environmentalism, and More

  Published in Innovation News Network - Environment - 5th January 2024 (https://www.innovationnewsnetwork.com/energy-transition-hot-arid-countries-vital-global-climate-targets/41509/) 24 Dr Gonzalo Castro de la Mata, Executive Director at the Earthna Center for a Sustainable Future at the Qatar Foundation, explains that the energy transition in hot and arid countries is a pressing matter if global net zero goals are to be met. Countries in hot and arid regions face substantial and unique challenges from global warming since most climate models predict that they will experience comparatively greater increases in average temperatures. This will increase the need for cooling, an essential requirement even today in many of these countries, in order to make human habitability possible during several months of the year. In parallel, hotter climates increase evaporation, which will, in turn, reduce water availability, a compounding challenge considering that many arid coastal countries r...

 Qatar´s Deserts are Alive. Published in The Peninsula, Doha, October 7, 2023. Natural ecosystems are critical to sustaining human societies by providing services that help to regulate the climate, recycle water and nutrients, create soil, pollinate plants, and replenish the Earth’s resources. However, perhaps more importantly, natural ecosystems and the biodiversity they contain have traditionally been a source of beauty, wonder, and inspiration to all cultures around the world. In popular culture, utopian ecosystems are often represented as lush tropical forests, where gigantic trees serve as homes to strange creatures and rivers flow with infinite volumes of water – typically areas rich in biodiversity. But what about biodiversity in desert countries such as Qatar? Does the lack of water and extreme heat mean that biodiversity here is less important, less appealing and less precious than in more temperate climates? To me, the answer is much to the contrary. Despite the harsh con...

Human ingenuity and market forces can help rescue Gaia. Letter published in The Financial Times, July 23, 2023. Camilla Cavendish’s opinion piece on the arrival of the Anthropocene correctly states that human societies have produced changes to our planet that objectively mark a new geological era (Opinion, July 14). The conclusion that this new era will inevitably result in irreversible damage to “Gaia” and human societies, however, is premature. Thanks to human ingenuity, awareness and collaboration we have been able to solve previous environmental crises, including acid rain and the disappearance of the ozone layer. Water and air quality in advanced economies are much better than they were half a century ago. Rivers no longer burst into flames. And thanks to conservation efforts, forests and other ecosystems are coming back in the northern hemisphere. The solution to the climate crisis, however, cannot be based on the premise that we need to change our own individual lifestyles and b...

Tackling the global environmental crisis through innovation and entrepreneurship. Published in Innovation News Network on September 6th, 2023 ( https://www.innovationnewsnetwork.com/tackling-global-environmental-crisis-through-innovation-entrepreneurship/37018/) Concerns about the health of the planet are increasing exponentially. Alarming news appears every day showing the gravity of the situation, including the imminence of global warming, the accelerating loss of biodiversity, and the growing levels of contamination of various ecosystems, including the oceans. These impacts, a result of human society’s unsustainable activities upon our planet, are so profound that scientists consider that a new and distinct geological era, defined by our impacts upon the planet, has arrived. They have named it ‘The Anthropocene.’ Are these changes so profound that their harmful impacts upon human societies, natural ecosystems, and the planet at large, are inevitable? Will global warming change the b...

The role of indigenous knowledge in sustainability Published in Sustainability Voices. July 10, 2023 (https://sustainabilityvoices.co.uk/the-role-of-indigenous-knowledge-in-sustainability/) There is growing recognition of the role indigenous knowledge can play in sustainability. Recent studies in the Brazilian Amazon have concluded that natural forests managed by indigenous communities are better preserved than those outside their territories. This role of indigenous people in relation to forest conservation is anchored in the reliance that exists between their traditional livelihoods and the services and products that forests provide to sustain them. These observations are also supported by the substantial knowledge indigenous people have developed regarding biodiversity, ecosystems, and the products and services they provide. Although it is true that for generations, human societies have adapted to their environments and have developed knowledge, technologies, and practices to manage...

(Published in Sustainability Voices, April 10, 2023:  https://sustainabilityvoices.co.uk/qatar-at-the-epicenter-of-global-sustainability-discussions-for-hot-and-arid-environments/) Countries in hot and arid environments such as those in the Gulf Cooperation Council or the MENA region face unique sustainability challenges. On the one hand, due to climate change, these countries will become even hotter and drier, placing additional pressures on their people, environments, and economies. On the other, these countries are often major exporters of hydrocarbons, which make them critical actors in the energy transition necessary to mitigate climate change. Yet, the bulk of global sustainability discussions have focused on tropical and temperate regions, almost assuming that all countries have vast forests and abundant water. These frameworks have little applicability to hot and arid countries such as Qatar. Fortunately, this is starting to change, and the recent  Earthna  Summit...

Global environment: Is the glass half full or half empty? Published in The Peninsula (https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/opinion/27/02/2023/global-environment-is-the-glass-half-full-or-half-empty) Dr. Gonzalo Castro de la Mata 27 Feb 2023 Concerns about the state of the global environment are widespread. The front pages of newspapers around the world prominently feature articles about global warming, biodiversity loss and pollution. And the extent and severity of these issues have led to a new term being adopted by several United Nations agencies and other international environmental players: “the triple planetary crisis”. The extensive coverage of environmental issues has caused major concern across societies in recent years, and as a result, “climate anxiety” has become widespread. Characterized by “a chronic fear of environmental doom”, a 2017 survey by the American Psychological Association revealed that more than two-thirds of Americans reported experiencing stress, depression and anxi...