Participation of the countries of Central Asia in the upcoming 28th Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP28) in Dubai, UAE, can have a crucial significance in attracting climate finance, a vital issue for the region. This can be summarized as the main message of the first regional meeting dedicated to the Regional Dialogue of Central Asian Countries on Joint Preparation for the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Climate Change.
Vladimir Grebnev, the Regional Climate Change Specialist of the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC), emphasized the expanded format of the meeting: the meeting was attended by more than 60 participants. These included national, regional, and international experts and UNFCCC national focal points; representatives of relevant state agencies of the governments of the CA countries engaged in tackling environmental and climate and sustainable development issues; international development partners, representatives of the civil sector, businesses, and youth - the core of the driving force of the society.
Tortsen Brezina, the GIZ Cluster Coordinator for Regional Programmes in Central Asia, expressed deep concern stating that global warming and climate change pose increasing climate risks for the region, and its need for considerable international support keeps growing. It is vitally important that the climate needs and priorities of the CA countries be voiced and heard at the international global climate summit, UNFCCC COP28. The CA countries will be able to assert themselves at the prominent international climate forum in Dubai by issuing regional statements on behalf of the CA governments and organizing their Central Asian Pavilion.
All meeting participants talked extensively and excitedly about the specific component of the regional statements looking at it from different perspectives; all came to a consensus that the content should comply with the global agenda of the UNFCCC COP28.
For example, Aleksey Kokorin, an international expert and Nobel Prize winner, emphasized that a mechanism of financial compensation for losses and damages caused by climate disasters developed at UNFCCC COP27 in Egypt in 2022 has already been operationalized. That means the states most vulnerable to climate disasters and least responsible for climate change for losses and damages may use this compensation mechanism. Moreover, this mechanism will cover losses and damages that are impossible to compensate for using adaptation and mitigation measures. As experts believe the countries of Central Asia should draw the attention of the global community to this aspect in their regional statements.
“Owing to its geographical location and growing aridity, the Region of Central Asia is very vulnerable to climate change. Compared to other regions of the world, the countries of Central Asia are more susceptible to the negative impact of climate change. The region will face a shortage of water resources caused by glacier melting and desertification processes in the future. Participation of the Central Asian region in a mechanism of loss and damage compensation recently created at the UNFCCC COP 27 can play a significant role for the region,” believes Dilovarsho Dustzoda, Program Manager “Climate Change and Sustainable Energy” and CAMP4ASB AF Project Coordinator.
Alexey Kokorin, Nobel Prize Winner, also once again drew the attention of the meeting participants to the fact that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) scientists do not yet have sufficient climate information about the region. Therefore, they do not see the real picture due to insufficient information, mistakenly believing that the CA region is not vulnerable to the consequences of climate change.
Vladimir Grebnev, the CAREC Regional Climate Change Specialist, points out that the region’s need to have a scientific study of its climatic characteristics should be strengthened and that it should be reflected in the regional statement.
In general, the meeting participants came to certain conclusions; the point of all of them is that priorities of the upcoming UNFCCC COP28 should be considered during the preparation of the regional statements, the most important one of which is to discuss the funding outcomes. It is also important to consider such issues as the global adaptation objective, article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement, which focuses on projects of social and ecological value.
All the meeting participants also believe that activation of the civil sector and youth in combatting climate change to complement ongoing efforts at the level of the governments of the region is important too.
What other issues were suggested for the regional statements on behalf of Central Asia at the UNFCCC COP28:
- Gender and climate justice also affect small farmers and youth;
- Climate change and public health, particularly in the context of air quality in the CA countries, including emission reduction, primarily from mineral fuel combustion;
- A threat of glacier loss in the Central Asian region may have catastrophic consequences not just for the region, but for the global community as well.
A proposal was also made to involve businesses in climate transformations and tackle climate challenges at the national, regional, and international levels.
Zafar Makhmudov, CAREC Executive Director, emphasized that two regional statements will be made for the UNFCCC COP28. The first statement will be made on behalf of the governments of the CA countries, and the second one – on behalf of NGOs and youth. “Experience of other countries have demonstrated that the more groups are represented in one statement, the greater the chance to be heard by all stakeholders at international climate platforms,” said Zafar Makhmudov.
Zafar Makhmudov, CAREC Executive Director, expressed hope that the regional statement on behalf of the governments of the CA countries this time will be voiced at the UNFCCC COP28 high-level, the plenary session, attended by the top management of the world’s states and international decision-making institutions.
He noted that this meeting was intended to discuss the content of regional statements with the involvement of the broader audience. Zafar Makhmudov expressed his confidence that the meeting accomplished its goals. The next stages in preparing the regional statements will include the work of two expert groups – on the preparation of the statements on behalf of the CA governments and behalf of CA NGOs and youth. These groups will be provided with all the comments received during the first regional meeting “The Regional Dialogue of Central Asian Countries on Joint Preparations for the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change”.
The meeting was organized within the framework of the project “Strengthening coordination and positioning of Central Asia in global climate processes” implemented by CAREC under GIZ support.
Additional Information:
Dilovarsho Dustzoda, Program Manager “Climate Change and Sustainable Energy”/ CAMP4ASB AF Project Coordinator, recath_manager@carececo.org
Vladimir Grebnev, CAREC Climate Change Specialist, cc_specialist@carececo.org
Supported by the governments of the CA countries, NGOs, and development partners, CAREC organized a Central Asian Pavilion for the first time in the history of the Conference in November 2021, at UNFCCC COP26 in Glasgow (UK). The CA Pavilion under the slogan “5 Countries – 1 Region – 1 Voice” provided a unique opportunity to get to know CA and its investment potential, to demonstrate its role in the global climate process, financing perspectives and current needs, technology exchange, and cooperation opportunities. A Regional statement of the countries of CA was made in the Pavilion also for the first time in the history of the COP. The countries of the region used the Pavilion to inform the global community about national priorities on climate and “green” transition, climate risks and objectives. At the subsequent UNFCCC COP27, the countries issued three regional statements on behalf of the governments, the civil sector and the youth.
By Zhanna Khusainova