The agreement, titled "participation in the global efforts to control gas emissions," will help Qatar reduce the burning of natural gas and gas emissions, he told reporters after signing the document with WB representative Somit Varma.
"It makes Qatar the first member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to join the global efforts aiming to control the impacts of fossil fuels on the climate," Al-Atiyah pointed out.
The agreement is part of the WB’s Clean Energy Investment Framework (CEIF) strategy that helps developing countries to increase access to clean energy, under take country-led actions to adapt to climate variability and change.
Concerning the 152nd ordinary meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), to be held in Vienna, Austria, on March 15, 2009, Al-Atiyah said the meeting would assess the outlook of the global oil market and define the way forward.
"The State of Qatar is committed to the output quota specified by OPEC’s 151st meeting," held in Oran, Algeria, on December 17, 2008, the minister said.
It pursues close cooperation with the global cartel to stabilize the oil market, he said, urging other OPEC members to follow suit.
Doha is setting the stage of the launching of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, an OPEC-like organization made up of 14 major gas-producing countries.
As leading world gas producer, Qatar produces some 31 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) a year, Al-Atiyah noted.
He expected the figure to double to some 77 million tons by 2011 when the envisaged 46 million tons of LNG are added.
For his part, Somit Varma, director of the WB’s Oil, Gas, Mining, and Chemicals Department voiced hope that the other GCC members to follow Qatar’s suit in joining the CEIF and the efforts aiming to reduce global warming.
