Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia's Acwa have signed a memorandum to develop cooperation on carbon markets and international mechanisms for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the National Committee for Ecology and Climate Change said.
The memorandum was signed at the COP31 climate conference in Antalya by Aziz Abdukhakimov, presidential adviser and chairman of Uzbekistan's National Committee for Ecology and Climate Change, and Mohammad Abdullah Abunayyan, founder and chairman of Acwa.
The agreement provides for exploring opportunities for Acwa's projects in Uzbekistan to participate in international carbon market mechanisms under the Paris Agreement.
The projects include the Bash, Dzhankeldy and Kungрад wind farms, including a battery energy storage system, as well as the Karatau wind power project.
The parties plan to assess whether these projects meet the Paris Agreement's criteria and examine procedures for their approval and registration. They will also explore opportunities to generate, transfer and use carbon credits and emission reduction outcomes.
A separate part of the memorandum covers technical and regulatory cooperation. This includes exchanging knowledge and experience in carbon markets, improving monitoring, reporting and verification systems, and strengthening institutional capacity.
The parties also intend to cooperate on improving the climate resilience of renewable energy facilities and energy infrastructure.
In particular, they plan to exchange information on climate risk assessments for wind farms and energy storage systems. The factors under consideration include extreme temperatures, dust storms and sandstorms.
They will also explore the use of climate information and early warning systems to protect energy facilities.
The memorandum aims to expand Uzbekistan's participation in international climate cooperation and use the potential of renewable energy to help achieve the country's climate goals.
