Shavkat Mirziyoyev proposes new climate cooperation model for Central Asia at COP31

He presented the initiative on November 11 at the 31st session of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Turkey.

Mirziyoyev said Uzbekistan supported global efforts to combat climate change and was prioritizing the development of its economy through green technologies.

The country has already achieved its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDP by 35%, ahead of schedule, he said.

The president also highlighted progress in water conservation. Over the past decade, water consumption per unit of GDP in Uzbekistan has nearly halved, while the volume of water withdrawn from water bodies has fallen by 20%.

Water-saving technologies have now been introduced across 60% of the country's irrigated farmland.

Mirziyoyev also announced that Uzbekistan would assume the chairmanship of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea in 2027. He said the country was ready to take on greater responsibility for managing transboundary water resources.

He added that Uzbekistan had expanded its forest area by 6 million hectares, with one-third of the total located in the Aral Sea region.

The country has also introduced a waste management strategy backed by more than $3 billion in planned investment.

A regional climate cooperation framework

Turning to the challenges facing Central Asia, Mirziyoyev warned that glacier melt, water shortages and the growing threat of drought required coordinated regional action.

To address these risks, he proposed developing a Climate Integration Model for Central Asia built around three areas of cooperation.

The first is information sharing. With support from the World Meteorological Organization, the initiative envisages establishing infrastructure for exchanging information on climate risks, setting up early warning systems for natural disasters and jointly monitoring long-term climate threats.

The second focuses on technology. Mirziyoyev called for wider use of green technologies to restore degraded soils, increase carbon sequestration in arid areas and combat dust and sandstorms.