Asian Development Bank (ABR) approved the provision of a loan of $ 250 million to promote the efforts of the Uzbekistan government in creating the institutional foundations of the climatic transition, strengthening the connection between the priorities of adaptation to climate change and accelerate measures to reduce their consequences.
The program aimed at accelerating the climatic transition will support reforms in three key areas: improving public administration and financial administration, increasing climatic changes in sectors such as water and land management, agriculture and social protection, as well as the transition To a low -carbon economy in the transport and energy spheres.
This is the first ABR program, focused on combating climate change in Central Asia. It is agreed with an updated deposit (Oneus) defined at the national level, a strategic framework for the transition to the green economy until 2030 and the new ABR partnership strategy with Uzbekistan at 2024-2028.
According to the general director of ABR for Central and Western Asia, Yevgeny Zhukov, the program puts the decarbonization of the economy at the forefront, increasing spontaneous disaster resistance and adaptation to climate change, paying special attention to the protection of the most vulnerable sections of the population.
Uzbekistan, Zhukov noted, remains one of the most energy -intensive economies in the world, and the program will help reduce greenhouse gases per unit of GDP by 35 percent by 2030. To achieve this goal, renewable energy sources will develop and energy efficiency will increase.
Director of the Permanent Representative Office of ABR in Uzbekistan, Konokpan Lao-Araya, emphasized that the country’s water resources are threatened due to climate changes and inefficient use. Within the framework of the program, the adoption of legislation stimulating investment in the modernization of irrigation systems and the introduction of smart water management technologies will help to ensure water safety and slow down the desertification process.
The main specialist of the ABR for the State Sector Hanif Rakhmetulla noted that the program was developed to strengthen the government potential in solving climatic problems by coordinating the policy, targeted distribution of budgetary funds and strengthening their use, as well as monitoring indicators related to climate change .
From the moment of joining ABR in 1995, Uzbekistan received loans, grants and technical support from the bank totaling $ 12.5 billion. These funds are aimed at achieving sustainable and stable development of the country.