Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- A regional approach is needed in the fight against climate change. Deputy Director of the International Institute of Central Asia Bakhtiyor Mustafayev expressed such an assessment during a round table on the state and prospects of the Uzbek-Kazakh strategic partnership, organized jointly with the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic Kazakhstan in Nur-Sultan on 2 December.

In recent years, there has been an intensification of regional cooperation in the field of environmental protection.

Thanks to the joint efforts of the Central Asia countries, on 18 May 2021, the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted a special resolution declaring the Aral Sea region a zone of environmental innovations and technologies. At the beginning of November this year, Central Asian countries organized a single platform at the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) in Glasgow. This site was organized in order to attract the attention of international financial institutions to address the negative effects of climate change.

At the beginning of November, a regular meeting of the Regional Forum was held in Tashkent - the Meeting of the heads of emergency departments of the CA countries, during which the adoption of the Strategy for the Development of Cooperation in Disaster Risk Reduction for 2022-2030, the Regulation on the Regional Mechanism for Coordination of Response to emergency situations, Strategy for the Development of Cooperation of Central Asian Countries in the Field of Disaster Risk Reduction for 2022-2023.

All this shows that the countries of the region express a strong commitment and pursue a consistent policy to effectively coordinate their efforts in solving environmental problems.

Despite the fact that there is a positive trend in regional cooperation in the environmental sphere, the CA countries have an understanding that this is not enough to effectively solve existing and emerging new problems in the water-ecological sphere.

A vivid example is the dust storm that covered the city of Tashkent and Tashkent region, as well as the southern regions of Kazakhstan in early November of this year. According to Uzhydromet, the excess of the permissible concentration of dust in the air in Tashkent at that time reached 30 times. Forecasters noted that over the past 150 years, such a natural disaster has been observed in Uzbekistan for the first time.

Against the background of the increasing negative effects of climate change, the World Bank data that by 2050 the water flow in Syrdarya and Amudarya basins, which are the main arteries of Central Asia, may decrease by 5% and 15%, respectively, which will increase the deficit waters in the region.

Moreover, as a result of climate change over the past 50-60 years, the area of glaciers in Central Asia has decreased by 30%. ADB estimates that by 2050 the region's irrigated land area will decline by 25%. As noted by the World Bank, water shortages can lead to a drop in GDP by 11%. According to ADB, land degradation in the region has caused annual losses of about US$4.5 billion.

The above facts once again emphasize that it is not necessary to stop at what has been achieved, relying on the existing results, you need to go forward.

Environmental issues are a priority in both Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. In his inaugural speech, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan paid special attention to the growing negative impact of environmental threats.

The President of Kazakhstan during a working visit to Almaty on 19 November of this year also drew attention to the importance of preventing environmental threats.

Today, all countries of the region have adopted national strategies, concepts, programs for adaptation to climate change. At the same time, there is no such document at the regional level.

The development and adoption of a regional Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change would allow for a regional dialogue between countries to analyze and develop integrated solutions to mitigate the effects of climate change. In this context, attention is drawn to some of the trends occurring in the world around climate change.

First, the announcement by many developed countries, including the main trade and economic partners of the Central Asian countries, of the transition to carbon neutrality in the next 30-40 years. Taking into account the fact that energy resources are still an important item in the formation of the GDP of the Central Asian countries, they are faced with the task of gradually abandoning the raw materials orientation of the economies of our countries towards the production of products with high added value.

Second, the negative impact of the introduction of carbon neutrality on the economies of our countries. Uzbekistan joined the GSP + system of preferences in April 2021, which allows duty-free export of more than 6,200 types of goods to the European Union. However, if a carbon tax is introduced in the European Union, the first package of which was approved in July of this year, the above-mentioned list of exported goods may be significantly reduced, which is fraught with economic damage.

A similar situation is observed in Kazakhstan.

According to the director of the department of the Ministry of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan A. Alimbetova, due to EU carbon taxes, the oil sector of Kazakhstan may lose US$3-4 billion, and the metallurgical sector - about US$350 million.

At the same time, it is noteworthy that the share of the CA countries of the total volume of carbon dioxide emissions in the world is only 1.2%. While the share of 3-4 leading countries - 50%. These facts show the need for an early launch of negotiations with developed countries and international financial institutions on a differential approach in the application of carbon taxes, providing for the provision of incentives and preferences.

Third. Against the background of an active transition to a green economy, the issue of diversification of clean technology suppliers is becoming urgent. The CA countries should not be left with the choice of technologies of this or that leading country or become hostage to geopolitical competition.

All these issues can only be resolved together, by developing a unified approach at the regional level.