Qatar to host Earthna Summit 2025
Focus on sustainability push
Qatar will host the second edition of the Earthna Summit on April 22–23, 2025. Organised by the Earthna Centre for a Sustainable Future, a member of Qatar Foundation, the summit will convene key stakeholders worldwide, including experts, policymakers, businesses, and civil society, to tackle pressing environmental challenges.
The summit’s theme, Building Our Legacy: Sustainability, Innovation and Traditional Knowledge, highlights Qatar’s commitment to advancing sustainability, particularly in hot and arid environments.
The event will explore how combining traditional knowledge with modern innovations can help create resilient and inclusive sustainable solutions. Through this dialogue, the summit aims to shape a more sustainable future, focusing on Qatar’s rich cultural heritage and unique ecosystems.
Dr Gonzalo Castro de la Mata, Executive Director at Earthna, emphasised the shared responsibility for sustainable development.
Speaking from the UNCCD COP16 in Riyadh, he said: “In a constantly and rapidly moving landscape, sustainable development is a shared responsibility. Achieving sustainability requires dialogue, policy foresight, integrated planning, and unifying a diverse range of partners and actors around a common goal.”
Government representatives, policymakers, multilateral institutions, and businesses will contribute to discussions on sustainability and innovation, supporting the summit’s objectives.
$1 million prize pool
A key highlight of the Earthna Summit 2025 will be announcing the inaugural Earthna Prize winners. With a total prize pool of $1 million, the Earthna Prize will recognise and support projects that integrate traditional knowledge and cultural heritage to address contemporary environmental challenges. Four winners will receive the prize, each demonstrating a pioneering approach to sustainability.
Building on the success of the first edition of the Earthna Summit 2023, the 2025 summit will feature two exciting new components: the Earthna Village and the Agora.
These spaces will showcase innovative solutions grounded in traditional knowledge, offering interactive platforms for knowledge sharing, collaboration, and creativity. These spaces are designed to engage the public and facilitate connections and ideas that drive sustainable development.
The Earthna Centre for a Sustainable Future is pivotal in Qatar’s sustainability efforts. The Qatar Foundation established Earthna, a non-profit organisation focused on research, policy advocacy, and promoting sustainable practices.
Its work spans key areas such as climate change, biodiversity, circular economies, energy transition, and the built environment, particularly addressing challenges that hot and arid regions face. Through its testbed in Education City, Earthna develops and trials sustainable solutions and evidence-based policies, aiming to make a lasting impact on Qatar and similar regions around the world.
The Earthna Summit will be crucial in shaping the future of sustainability in the region. It will reinforce Qatar’s commitment to preserving its cultural heritage while embracing innovative solutions for a greener and more sustainable world.
The Earthna Centre for a Sustainable Future, established by the Qatar Foundation, is a non-profit organisation promoting sustainability in Qatar and other hot and arid regions. Earthna focuses on various issues, including climate change, circular economies, and the transition to clean energy, fostering collaboration across sectors to drive positive change.
Hero image: Discussion of sustainable pathways for hot and arid environments at Earthna Summit 2023. Credit: Qatar Foundation
