However, from the end of November 2020, the factory stopped working. This is like a knife cut into the despair of the nearly 300 inhabitants living on the island. These people are forced to drink contaminated water, fear outbreaks of disease and face the fear of prolonged starvation. Impotent “Skin diseases and diarrhea are widespread, especially among children. We have no choice but to drink contaminated water or salt water,” said Taboree Biremon, a resident of Banaba island. “The kids are not okay because they don’t understand (why do we have to deal with this). They keep asking for the kind of food they never get. We just feel so sad about it but what can we do?” According to Mr. Taboree, it has been 3 months since people have had no fresh water to drink, cannot bathe, have no food other than fish because all crops have died. “We couldn’t sleep either. All we wanted was to find water on the island. We are looking for a way to survive. We were adrift in the sea, lost and no one cared,” Mr. Taboree said. Empty food shelves – a familiar image in many houses in Banaba. Photo: Guardian. A ship from Kiribati – 400km away – docked this past March – providing bottled water and equipment to set up a new desalination plant. But island seniors insist relying on remote support is not feasible and sustainable, especially as the climate crisis worsens. “Dealerization plants are not a long-term solution. As the incident continued, we were in the same impasse again. What the people need is to restore the status of the island,” said Roubena Ritata, a village elder. Banaba leaders are looking for a lasting solution. In fact, there is a solution that their ancestors have worked for decades to survive on this island: the traditional method of drawing water. Reason Elders are writing to the Australian and New Zealand governments asking for assistance in building or cleaning up a network of underground water in the caves, called te bangabanga . Australia and New Zealand contributed to the destruction of the bangabanga te system in the 20th century from phosphate mining. This activity was started by Australian miner Albert Ellis in 1900. Over the next 80 years, the British Phosphate Commission (BPC) – owned by Australia, New Zealand and the UK – exploited Banaba Island so much that about 90% of the island was bare land. “The total destruction (Banaba island) is the result of the activities of these countries. They come, fill their pockets, and leave,” said Katerina Teaiwa, an associate professor at the Australian National University and author of “Ocean Island: The Story of Man and Phosphate from Banaba”. The Banaba has historically survived many severe droughts thanks to caves and water storage. The underground caves are called te bangabanga. Photo: Guardian. However, the elderly residents here claim that almost all of the caves have been destroyed, the remaining few are seriously polluted. “For many people, te bangabanga exist only in stories and dances that have been passed down through generations,” said elder Pelenise Alofa. Historically, only women have been allowed to enter these caves, showing the importance and role of women in the Banaba community. “We performed dances and told the story of how the ancestors found the cave to the young. It’s part of the people of Banaba. I thought these problems would be solved, but they got worse,” said Alofa. The Banaba used to receive a compensation for what they had to endure. In 1976, a group of people sued the UK over the destruction of the island’s nature. The court then ruled that Britain had only a moral debt, not a legal obligation. In the end, the British government decided on behalf of the group to offer the Banaba people a good faith settlement of nearly $7.8 million, on condition that they waive all further legal action. Now, as the drought persists, the Banaba people are forced to continue their search for compensation and find a lasting solution. Looking for justice 6,000 people were forced to migrate from the island to the Fijian island of Rabi. “Banaba citizens living in Fiji and the diaspora in Auckland are eager to return to Banaba and connect with their homeland. But the devastation caused by mining operations leaves people with no other choice,” said Rae Baineti, director of the Kiribati Auteroa Diaspora Director. “As a social activist, I advise the younger generation to stand firm and be brave. I encourage them to dialogue to hold the government accountable for our destruction of land,” he added. An old cantilever used to load phosphates for ships. Photo: Guardian. Over-mining has also resulted in houses in Banaba being built with asbestos. This substance when inhaled can lead to two deadly diseases, lung cancer and mesothelioma. Mike McRae-Williams, an Australian environment expert with over 30 years of experience in the mining industry, came to Banaba in 2008 to assess the severity of the situation. “This is a serious health hazard to the people who live here,” he said. “Instead of constantly giving stories like ‘poor Banaba people, no water, help them’, we should aim for an approach that is to find a reasonable solution,” said resident Teaiwa. While supporting the emergency rescue effort along with the Kiribati government, a spokesperson for the New Zealand Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade declined to comment on the Banaba residents’ request for New Zealand and Australia to address the root of the crisis. panic. Meanwhile, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade did not provide an answer to this issue.

Solar power is Qatar’s strength

Huge solar power potential

Qatar and the GCC countries have the highest potential for harnessing solar energy, based on the annual amount of sunshine (including hours of sunshine and solar intensity). Not to mention, July, August and September every year is the time when the whole region has the highest amount of electricity consumption, due to the very high demand for air conditioning and also a strong solar irradiation time most of the year.

Therefore, the development of solar power technology is the most promising energy sector for Qatar. In early 2020, Qatar announced it would build a solar power plant with a peak capacity of 800 MW at Al Kharsaah, comprising 2 million two-sided photovoltaic modules (Bifacial technology) combined with tracking equipment. width over 1,000 hectares. Al-Kharsaah solar power plant will be built on 10km2 near the capital Doha, expected to be completed in 2022.

The Al-Kharsaah Solar Power Plant will reach maximum capacity when solar radiation peaks at noon – the time when the demand for electricity is highest during the day. With a two-sided photovoltaic module system incorporating a monitoring device to align the angle of sunlight absorption, the correlation between solar power production and electricity demand will be strengthened.

Total Energy (France) and Marubeni Trade and Investment (Japan) will sponsor the Al-Kharsaah Solar Power Plant Project, with a total investment of about 500 million USD (ie 0, USD 6 / Wp for Bifacial technology with tracker). This figure shows that the solar energy sector is on a constant and relentless trend of cost reduction. With the use of monitoring devices with a two-sided module, the load factor of a solar power plant can exceed 30% – an exceptionally high level in the solar sector, due to the home load factor. Average solar power in the world is only about 20%.

Fresh water is Qatar’s big problem in climate change

Electricity and water – Two main concerns

Solar PV can play a central role in meeting the growing demand for electricity and water in Qatar, as the two sectors are interrelated (large gas thermal power plants can produce water from desalination). However, the demand for water and electricity in summer is very high: Electricity peaks reach about 8 GW, double the capacity in winter; while the water demand is about 20% higher.

It should be noted, in recent years, electricity demand in Qatar has grown three times faster than the world average due to the country’s strong economic growth and infrastructure projects. giant. The high level of electricity consumption is also due to the government price subsidy that makes electricity prices almost “free” in Qatar, suitable for all purposes.

The demand for fresh water in Qatar is growing at a rate of 12% per year, mainly due to industrial development, population growth as well as increased irrigation in the agricultural sector and anti-desertification. Since then, the desalination process has been significantly accelerated, contributing to increased power consumption.

Qatar in the Global Energy Transition Race (Next and Out)

Increase the share of renewable energy

Qatar is implementing a series of measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and assert its position as a leader in the development of new technologies.

Domestically, Qatar aims to increase the share of renewable energy in electricity consumption to 20% from 2024. At the same time, the transformation of energy in Qatar is also the realization of the development of public transport systems. new projects, including electric taxis and compressed natural gas (CNG) buses.

Qatar has established official bodies to deal with climate change (for example the National Committee on Climate Change – the national body responsible for climate policy formulation). Moreover, Qatar has participated in the GHG reduction program of the World Bank (WB) and the Global Association for Reducing Gas Emissions (GGFR). More specifically, Qatar Petroleum National Petroleum Company sets a “zero gas emission” goal by 2030. This goal will help develop new insights for other gas producing regions. Qatar Petroleum is promoting carbon capture and storage projects as it sees customers increasingly opting for low-carbon resources.

Qatar will need to make efforts to invest in low-carbon energy technology, by developing goals for energy efficiency and carbon concentration. Thereby, the challenge of Qatar is the reconciliation of new goals in the fight against climate change with the development of the domestic energy sector, along with new and “cleaner” sectors.

In recent years, electricity demand in Qatar has grown three times faster than the world average due to the country’s strong economic growth and huge infrastructure projects. The high electricity consumption is also due to the government price subsidy that makes electricity prices almost “free” in Qatar.