Central Asia Climate Change Conference opened in the Kazakh city of Almaty today.
The conference has reportedly brought together government officials, academics and other interested parties from across the region to discuss issues relating to the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
This two-day Central Asia Climate Change Conference is organized under the framework of the Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for the Aral Sea Basin (CAMP4ASB) Project and is a continuation of the World Bank’s initiative on climate change knowledge and information exchange in Central Asia.
The 2018 Central Asia Climate Change Conference aims at fostering regional dialogue, knowledge and information exchange on adaption to climate change, exploring opportunities for joint actions between international, regional and national stakeholders and build a common vision towards climate resilient future.
The Central Asia Climate Change Conference 2018 is divided into five Plenary Sessions on: 1) Climate Policy and National Actions; 2) Science and Climate Research; 3) Best Climate-Resilient Practices and Technologies; 4) Finance for Climate Adaptation; and 5) Climate Information Services.
The first and second Central Asia Regional Knowledge Forums on Climate Change were held in June 2013 and May 2014 respectively. During the 1st Central Asia Regional Knowledge Forum, participants have strongly recommended to continue the practice of conducting regional climate change events on annual basis to support learning, capacity building and actions on climate resilience at national and regional levels across multiple sectors of the economy. At the Second Forum Regional Knowledge Forum, the policy-makers of Central Asian expressed high interests and enthusiasm to have a joint initiative on climate change in Central Asia.
In 2016, in response to these emerging regional needs, the Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for Aral Sea Basin (CAMP4ASB) has been launched to support the countries of Central Asia to enhance regionally coordinated access to improved climate change knowledge services as well as to increased investments and capacity building, that combined will address climate challenges across the region.
The Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) is one of the implementing agencies of the CAMP4ASB project, which is mandated to implement its regional project component, which, inter alia, envisages the organization of regular Climate Change Conferences and strengthening the regional cooperation on climate change.
