Mirziyoyev calls for a new regional architecture of environmental cooperation

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on Wednesday laid out six sweeping environmental initiatives before delegates assembled in Samarkand for the Eighth Assembly of the Global Environment Facility, capping the package with an announcement that his country intends to join the GEF's circle of donor nations — a substantial diplomatic and financial commitment from a middle-income state that itself remains on the front lines of the world's most severe climate pressures.

Speaking in the ancient Silk Road city on the eve of World Environment Day, Mirziyoyev recast Uzbekistan's environmental agenda as opportunity rather than obligation — "a new model of development" — staking a claim for the country as an emerging regional leader on climate action at a moment when Central Asia is battling accelerating desertification, retreating glaciers, and a water crisis of growing severity.

"Today, humanity faces unprecedented crises — climate change, biodiversity loss, environmental pollution," Mirziyoyev told heads of delegations from all 186 GEF member states. "For Central Asia, these are not abstract threats. They are the realities of today."

The water crisis

The president anchored his remarks in a stark World Bank projection: roughly 37 million people across Central Asia currently live in zones of acute water scarcity — a figure that could climb to 75 million by 2050. The statistic gave weight to the urgency propelling Uzbekistan's domestic environmental transformation and its push for more robust multilateral financing architecture.

The GEF, Mirziyoyev observed, has mobilized more than $170 billion for environmental projects since its founding, making it "a unique platform of global partnership" warranting the highest recognition. Uzbekistan's offer to contribute as a donor country would mark a historic role reversal for a nation that has long been a recipient of international environmental assistance.

Six initiatives

I. Samarkand as Green Capital

Mirziyoyev proposed that Samarkand be formally designated the "Green Investment and Innovation Capital of Central Asia" — a status designed to anchor the city's transformation into a regional hub for green economy, sustainable development, and climate finance. The president outlined plans to develop Samarkand as a pilot "green zone," with the model subsequently replicated across other cities of the republic.

II. The Ulugbek Institute

Drawing a deliberate line from the 15th-century astronomer-ruler Mirzo Ulugbek — who made Samarkand a world centre of science six centuries ago — Mirziyoyev announced the establishment of the Ulugbek Sustainable Development Research Institute. The institution will be built in partnership with Columbia University's Center for Sustainable Development, operating under the Central Asian University for Environmental Studies and Climate Change. It is conceived as the region's premier scientific and analytical platform for green and sustainable economic transformation, with strategic governance vested in a Board of Trustees under the President.

III. National Climate Centre

A National Centre for Climate Change and Hydrometeorology will be established to consolidate the country's scientific capacity and monitoring infrastructure under one roof. The centre will integrate hydrometeorology, early warning systems, glaciology, climate impact assessment, and greenhouse gas monitoring, and will participate in the WMO Global Atmosphere Watch and NASA AERONET programmes.

IV. The Clean Air Consortium

Mirziyoyev disclosed that Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have reached an agreement to establish an interstate Clean Air Consortium, focused on mobilizing green finance, forest reclamation, scientific research, industrial ecological modernisation, and strengthened environmental monitoring and enforcement. All states of the region were extended an open invitation to join.

V. The Desert Economy Initiative

Drawing on the work of the Institute for Combating Desertification, Mirziyoyev proposed advancing a "desert economy" initiative across the Aral Sea region — targeting desertification mitigation, the creation of green buffer shields, and climate adaptation — to be implemented in alignment with GEF priorities and backed by international financial and technical support. Uzbekistan has already committed to restoring more than two million hectares of degraded land around the former sea bed, reframing what the president called "the tragedy of the Aral" as "a space of revival, science, and innovation."

VI. Tashkent Investment Forum 2027

The 2027 Tashkent Investment Forum will convene under the theme "Sustainable Development and Green Investments," with an international Eco Expo Central Asia exhibition running alongside. Every region of Uzbekistan will prepare and pitch to investors no fewer than 100 prospective projects, each designed to attract green capital from international partners.

Domestic agenda

Beyond the six international initiatives, Mirziyoyev outlined the progress of Uzbekistan's five national environmental programmes spanning air quality protection, biodiversity conservation, waste management, afforestation, and environmental education. By 2030, Uzbekistan aims to bring protected natural areas to 21 percent of the country's total territory and cut harmful atmospheric emissions by 10.5 percent.

On waste-to-energy, two processing plants are set to come online this year, with nine more to follow over the next two years — a network that will be capable of processing 5.5 million tonnes of waste annually and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 1.1 million tonnes.

In education, the president highlighted the Green University ecosystem — a constellation of ten research institutes and centres alongside 14 green technical colleges — that is actively building environmental literacy among nearly two million young Uzbeks.
A dedicated Eco Expo Central Asia platform has also been launched to channel financial resources and green solutions toward environmental projects across the region's industries and territories.
Closing

Mirziyoyev closed with a call for the Assembly to lay the groundwork for "a new regional architecture of environmental cooperation," expressing firm confidence that the Samarkand forum — convening with symbolic timing on the eve of World Environment Day — would forge frameworks equal to the magnitude of the challenges bearing down on the region.

The Eighth GEF Assembly, bringing together representatives of 186 nations, stands as one of the largest multilateral environmental governance events of 2026.