President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said Uzbekistan is proposing a Climate Integration Model for Central Asia, urging countries in the region to act jointly against threats such as melting glaciers, water scarcity and extreme droughts.

Speaking at the 31st session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31), Mirziyoyev said “no country can tackle climate challenges alone.”

He proposed starting cooperation in three areas. The first is information: with the World Meteorological Organization’s support, countries should build infrastructure for sharing climate risk data, beginning with an early warning system and later moving to joint monitoring of slow-onset disasters.

The second is technology. Mirziyoyev said Uzbekistan plans to turn its annual ECO-EXPO exhibition into a permanent investment and technology platform for environmental solutions adapted to the region.

The third is finance. “Central Asia needs sufficient and predictable financing that takes local conditions and needs into account,” he said. He proposed working with development banks and dedicated funds on new instruments, including concessional grants and “blue” and “arid” financing.

Mirziyoyev urged countries and international organizations to back the initiative and suggested applying the model “in all interested regions of the world.”

He said Uzbekistan met ahead of schedule its target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDP by 35% and has set a new target of 50% by 2035. Renewables will account for 54% of its power generation within four years, he said.

Over the past 10 years, the water intensity of the economy has nearly halved and water withdrawals have fallen by a fifth, he said. Water-saving technologies have been deployed on more than 60% of irrigated land.

From next year, Uzbekistan will chair the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea, Mirziyoyev said. Forest plantations have been expanded by 6 million hectares, a third of them in the Aral Sea region, and more than $3 billion is being invested under a Waste Management Strategy.

COP31 is being co-chaired by Turkey and Australia. Heads of state and government from more than 90 countries, along with leaders of major international organizations and financial institutions, are attending. Mirziyoyev held a series of meetings with leaders on the sidelines of the summit.