The annual Qatar Fertiliser Company (Qafco) - Texas A&M University at Qatar (Tamuq) conference this year highlighted the importance of using renewable energy and managing CO2 emissions to protect the environment.
The conference featured an impressive technical programme and sessions, opinions and research from some of the world’s most respected names in managing CO2 and energy. It also provided a forum for the exchange of ideas and opportunities for future collaborations.
“This important conference highlights the pressing need for industry and academia to work together to develop new knowledge and create scientific solutions that have direct impact on the world around us,” Tamuq interim dean Dr Ann Kenimer said in a press statement.
Kenimer’s statement was echoed by organisers saying it is imperative to find new ways of managing CO2 to make emissions friendlier to the environment.
However, conference co-chair and Tamuq chemical engineering professor Dr Konstantinos Kakosimos said that developing technology, industry and commercial applications led to an increase in overall energy consumption. 
This in turn, he noted, led to two important problems: energy resources and environmental pollution.
“We are proud to have had Professor Michael Graetzel, director of the Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces in the Institute of Chemical Science and Engineering at the Ecole Polytechique Féderale de Lausanne (Switzerland), as keynote speaker this year,” Dr Kakosimos said. 
“This annual conference reaffirms our pursuits of cutting-edge chemistry and chemical engineering research in Qatar and the region,” he added.
The conference also welcomed 14 distinguished speakers from the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. 
Besides discussing the adverse effects of using fossil fuels which highly emit greenhouse gases, the speakers also spoke about the benefits as well as limits of renewable energy.
Qafco CEO Khalifa al-Sowaidi believes that these kinds of conferences can help provide better insights to address such dilemmas.
“I hope the conference becomes the platform for sharing ideas to find solutions for short and long-term issues facing us.”