Qatar set to host major climate talks

Talks were already in trouble, and now the high-level discussions were moving to a member of OPEC that had shown little interest in climate change and appointed a former oil minister to lead the negotiations, which start Monday. The country's economic boom, driven by vast oil and gas reserves, has led to free electricity for citizens and an abundance of gas-guzzling SUVs in the capital, Doha. It has also made Qatar the world's highest per capita carbon dioxide emitter.

"Nongovernment organizations had mixed feelings about it," said Wael Hmaidan, a Lebanese activist who is director of the Climate Action Network. "Some were very concerned and found it a threat knowing that Qatar has not been engaged in the climate change negotiations, while others found it an opportunity to get the climate debate higher on the political agenda of the region."

Activists complain Qatar has shown little leadership so far and been much less transparent than previous hosts of the annual climate conference.

Among the most vocal has been advocacy group Avaaz, which asserts that "having one of the OPEC leaders in charge of climate talks is like asking Dracula to look after a blood bank." It also criticized Qatari leaders for attending a big oil conference just ahead of the talks, a sign its priorities may misplaced.

But publicly, delegates have been careful to avoid criticizing the emirate. The top United Nations climate official said preparations are on track.

"I'm not concerned," said Christiana Figueres, the executive secretary of the United Nations Climate Change secretariat. "We are very grateful. Qatar not only offered, but literally fought for the opportunity and privilege of hosting."

"We have been impressed with work of the Qatar team and how they have brought themselves very quickly up to speed with the complexity of the issues," she said.

Hosting the conference is part of the tiny Gulf nation's campaign to project itself as a powerhouse on the world stage, after winning the bid to host the 2022 World Cup and backing rebellions in Libya and Syria.

It also offers the ruling family an opportunity to change perceptions about a region that in the past has seemed concerned only with protecting its vast oil and gas reserves from the impact of any climate agreement.

Qatar and its Persian Gulf neighbors insist that portrayal is outdated.

The United Arab Emirates has, for example, endorsed the extension of the Kyoto Protocol, which limits the greenhouse emissions of industrialized countries. It was also the first Gulf nation to sign on to the Copenhagen Accord supporting a long-term deal to reign in emissions.

Even Saudi Arabia, which in the past led opposition to a global agreement capping greenhouse gas emissions, has moderated its position and shaken up its negotiating team.

Leaders in the Gulf also are more vocally acknowledging the impact of climate change, endorsing the science that shows emissions are on rise and recognizing they are not immune to the impact of global warming. They also are promising to do their part to combat it.

"I describe Qatar as the epicenter of climate change. There is no water, no food. It's barren desert," said Fahad Bin Mohammed al-Attiya, chairman of Doha's COP18 organizing committee. "Any problems to harvest season or productivity outside the Gulf would immediately impact our ability to have access to food at reasonable global prices."

Qatar and the UAE have rolled out green building codes in an effort to shift away from energy-wasting high-rises that dominate the skyline. Qatar says it will produce 20 percent of its energy from renewables by 2024, while Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE have announced plans to invest heavily in solar power.