UN Climate Change Conference 'a moment of celebration' organisers of COP18/CMP8 praise progress achieved and pay tribute to team behind event

Fahad Bin Mohammed Al-Attiya, the Chairman of the Organising Sub-Committee for COP18/CMP8 Doha, cited the second commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol for another eight years and several other key achievements of the negotiations, saying that he, "shared the joy of having come a long way on a long journey."

Speaking at a press conference immediately after the final agreement was reached, Mr Al Atiyya said, "All of that happened here in Doha in the past two weeks. So it is absolutely something that I and many of my colleagues around this room feel extremely proud, to be part of the team that produced COP18/CMP8 Doha, and share part of that success going forward."

Abdulaziz Bin Ahmed Al-Malki, the Chairman of the Executive Organising Committee of COP18/CMP8 Doha, described the vast scale of the event. He said, "194 countries had attended. There were about 16,000 participants, including 6,868 delegates, and 5,829 observers."

Mr Al-Malki said, "861 members of the regional and international media had taken part in the conference, and that 10,900 technical staff who had worked on the event."

Mr Al-Malki said, "More than 70,000 hotel rooms had been booked and used across the city during the two week conference."

Looking at the Qatar Sustainability Expo, which showcased the brightest ideas in sustainability from the reigon and the wider world at the Doha Exhibition Centre, he said that 10,449 visitors had attended the event during the two week period.

Mr Al-Malki also praised the conference venue, the Qatar National Convention Centre. He said, "This conference has been hosted in this beautiful place, the QNCC. This convention centre is one of the best, with its beautiful landmark architecture."

The conference began on November 26, and was due to end on December 7, but was extended until Saturday December 8.

During the Conference, Qatar announced an agreement with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, from Germany, one of the world's most prominent scientific institutions. The agreement is to establish a climate research centre in Qatar to undertake pioneering work in the global fight against climate change.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Faisal Al Suwaidi, the President of research and development at Qatar Foundation, and Professor Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, the founding director of the Potsdam Institute.

As well as the negotiations, the Conference hosted hundreds of side events, at which groups presented their ideas to tackle climate change, and sought to raise the profile of affected groups, such as indigenous populations, women and those living in dry land regions.