Recommended Research Priorities for the Qatar Foundation's Environment and Energy Research Institute

Qatar's leadership has created a vision of sustainable development for the country. The Qatar Foundation (QF) is moving this vision of sustainable development forward in part by establishing a national research institute that conducts and collaborates on applied research in energy, environment, and water issues, the Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute. This book recommends applied research priorities for the new institution and reports on a survey of related research institutions in the region. The authors identified 14 priority research topics that QF should consider for the institute: natural gas and petroleum production and processing, carbon capture and storage, solar-energy development, fuel cells, green building, smart grids, strategic energy planning, desalination, groundwater sustainability, water demand management, integrated water resource management, environmental characterization, and crosscutting environmental research. These topics address key challenges that Qatar's energy, water, and environment resources and industries face, and they are areas in which Qatar could be well positioned to pursue research. Through the survey, the authors also found that Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have common resources and concerns about energy, water, and environment issues, and that GCC institutions are engaged in a range of research activities to address such concerns. The authors recommend that Qatar's institute take a multidisciplinary approach to research, and collaborate with other GCC institutions. It should also seek input from and involve the Qatar government to ensure that research priorities are aligned, resources allocated to energy and environment research reflect the institute's capabilities and needs, research findings reach their intended audience, and the institute and government agencies collaborate.