The Gulf Organisation for Research & Development (GORD) has entered the second week of its participation at the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the UNFCCC taking place in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, until 18 November 2022. Held every year, COP26 gathers governments, institutes and businesses under one roof to negotiate and reach solutions to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement to limit the global warming to 1.5°C. With a mission to further GORD’s sustainability drive, senior representatives of the organization are attending the climate event under the leadership of Founding Chairman, Dr. Yousef Alhorr.

The second week of COP27 opened with the continuation of GORD’s climate engagements that include knowledge exchange activities, high-level meetings to explore cross-sector synergies, and collaborative agreements. A part of GORD’s active participation in Blue Zone and Green Zone of COP27 is marked by the formalization of strategic collaborations with leading international, regional and national players to join forces for sustainable development. To this end, the second week of COP27 saw a number of agreements with key enablers including UN agency and international energy association.  

A significant outcome of GORD’s participation at COP27 was the expansion of the organization’s scope in delivering energy efficient trainings on behalf of the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE). Following AEE’s selection of GORD as AEE Qatar Chapter, GORD is the first and only organization in Qatar and the region to provide certifications and trainings of AEE. At COP27, the two entities signed an agreement to increase the scope of AEE trainings offered by GORD. As the first outcome of the recent MoU signed by GORD’s Founding Chairman, Dr. Yousef Alhorr, and AEE’s Executive Director, Bill Kent, energy professionals in Qatar will have access to the Certified Measurement and Verification Professional (CMVP) program in addition to the AEE Certified Energy Professional (CEM) program. AEE training and certification programs are designed to accelerate energy transition by providing capacity building in areas related to energy engineering, energy management, energy efficiency and conservation, energy auditing, renewable and alternative energy, power generation, energy services, sustainability, techno-economics and lifecycle costing of energy systems etc.

GORD’s recent collaborations with UNESCO and AEE add to a number of climate alliances the organization has formalized during its participation at COP27. This year, GORD’s participation at the climate is also marked by the launch of Destination Green Program – a multistakeholder initiative gathering organizations to share their unique stories in the field of sustainability by showcasing them at international platforms. Joining the initiative with GORD are leading entities including Baladna Food Industries, Dukhan Bank and Qatar National Bank (QNB). Furthermore, GORD has signed MoUs with many other entities that include Qatar Rail, Doha Bank and Qatar Mobility Innovations Center (QMIC).

With GORD entering a number of climate alliances at COP27, the organizations looks forward to advancing its sustainability drive through progressive green initiatives in line with Qatar National Climate Change Action Plan 2030 (NCCAP) and Qatar's National Environment and Climate Change Strategy (QNE).