Uzbekistan is ready to actively participate in multilateral efforts to promote the "green" agenda and to curb climate change, said the Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Aziz Abdukhakimov on November 9 in Glasgow in his address to the 26th session of the Conference of the States Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26).
Voicing the country statement, he stressed that Uzbekistan will join the implementation, together with the international community, of all necessary measures for the future of the planet, the press service of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports said.
He added that climate change is one of the main challenges of our time, which directly affects the quality of life of people. The consequences of climate change, which have become global and unprecedented in scale, are fully manifested in the Central Asian region.
As a result of the Aral Sea disaster, climatic changes in the region are occurring twice as intense as the world average. Among the negative manifestations - an increase in the frequency and geography of dust storms, the aggravating problems of land degradation and reduction of water resources, the Deputy Prime Minister noted.
Recognizing these processes, the authorities of Uzbekistan pay serious attention to promoting the issues of the "green" agenda, preserving ecology and biodiversity, and the careful use of natural resources. “This is our human duty to present and future generations,” he quoted President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's speech at the 76th session of the UN General Assembly.
At the national level, Uzbekistan is implementing a comprehensive Strategy for the transition to a "green" economy and the Program for the Development of Renewable and Hydrogen Energy. From 2021, the country plans to plant 200 million tree and shrub seedlings annually. By 2030, it is planned to double the energy efficiency of the economy, and the share of renewable energy - to at least 25%.
Aziz Abdukhakimov said that within the framework of the Paris Agreement, Uzbekistan takes on an additional obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDP by 35% until 2030 compared to 2010 (before that it was planned to reduce by 10%). To achieve this goal, it is planned to develop a National Low-Carbon Development Strategy.
At the regional level, Uzbekistan, together with partners from Central Asian countries, "is taking decisive actions in the field of combating drought and water shortages, mitigating the consequences of the Aral Sea tragedy and socio-economic development of adjacent territories," the Deputy Prime Minister said.
To unite efforts to counter these challenges, it is planned to hold a high-level international forum on "green" energy under the auspices of the UN in Nukus next year. Aziz Abdukhakimov urged the conference participants to actively participate in the implementation of projects and programs within the framework of the UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund for Human Security for the Aral Sea region.
Uzbekistan also welcomes the agreement of the recent G20 meeting to adopt a balanced and effective Global Framework for Biodiversity, he said.
To discuss the priorities of international environmental policy, the Deputy Prime Minister proposed holding the 6th high-level UN Environment Assembly in Uzbekistan in 2023.
He also said that Uzbekistan supports the joint declaration on forests and land use, adopted during the Glasgow summit.
