Law and Governance Innovations on Sustainability in Qatar: Current Approaches and Future Directions

Abstract

Over the last few decades, Qatar has developed a clear, comprehensive, and committed legal order that places sustainability squarely at the heart of its rapid economic development. In addition to the Qatar National Vision 2030 (QNV 2030), which accentuates the need for balanced and holistic social, economic, and environmental development, Qatar has been a hub of research, technology development, and public dialogue on sustainable development. More recently, Qatar has also launched a National Environment and Climate Change Strategy that outlines practical steps to achieve the environment pillar of the QNV 2030. These efforts underline Qatar’s commitment and vision to promote balanced and holistic social, environment, and economic development across all key sectors. However, while the impetus and appetite for sustainability is rapidly increasing in Qatar, dynamic legal innovation is required to ensure greater coordination and coherence in the implementation of such efforts. This chapter evaluates law and governance innovations that have been put in place in Qatar to advance sustainability and low-carbon transition. It also proposes innovative legal approaches for addressing practical challenges to implementation, especially issues of institutional coordination, interoperability, and reducing overlaps in regulatory arrangements.