A two-day Central Asia climate conference started in Dushanbe today. The event is organized by the Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia (CAREC) in cooperation with the Committee for Environmental Protection under the Government of Tajikistan and the Central Asia Water & Energy Program (CAWEP), a partnership among the World Bank, the European Union, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, and is supported by PROGREEN.
The theme of the 5th Central Asia Climate Change Conference (CACCC- 2023) this year is climate change and development.
The purpose of the conference is to study the challenges and gaps in the implementation of the climate commitments of the Paris Agreement by the countries of Central Asia, to discuss the potential of regional cooperation and to consider ways to improve water sustainability, energy, food and environmental resources in the region.
The 5th CACCC-2023 has brought together all stakeholders, including authorized representatives of line ministries of the Central Asian countries, participation of business representatives, the expert community, international development partners, multilateral development banks, youth unions, non-governmental institutions and civil society organizations that carry out their activities in the field of climate change, to discuss climate mitigation and adaptation actions, relevant initiatives to achieve cross-sectoral climate resilience.
Most of the participants are attending the conference offline. However, the event is also being streamed online with the opportunity for an active participation and interaction by online participants.
The conference is serving as the platform for a regional multi stakeholder dialogue on the challenges and opportunities of delivering national commitments under the Paris Agreement. It is supporting national governments and other stakeholders through coordinated preparations and participation at the COP28, as well as helping build professional community of practice for knowledge exchange and collaborative implementation of climate initiatives and projects in the Central Asia.
The following are the event’s themes: 1) emerging policies and strategies for long-term decarbonization in Central Asia; 2) strengthening climate resilience of the Central Asian countries through 20230: gaps and opportunities; 3) leveraging regional collaboration in a changing global policy environment; and 4) climate change and development for water, energy and food security in Central Asia
The event participants are also learning about the progress and institutional arrangements for implementation of the national development strategies (NDCs) by the Central Asian nations, governance and financial arrangements for implementation of sector-specific strategies at the national and local scales, and available platforms for regional climate cooperation.
The conference participants will also learn about the outcomes of participation of the Central Asian countries at the UNFCCC COP27 and plans with regional and national preparations for COP28 in Dubai, OAE.
