Key points from President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's speech at the 31st session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31):
-Uzbekistan consistently supports global efforts to combat climate change. It is building a new development model based on "green" technologies and the rational use of natural resources;
-Uzbekistan met its target of reducing gas emissions per unit of GDP by 35 percent ahead of schedule. Set a new goal to reduce harmful emissions by 50 percent by 2035;
-In ten years, water consumption in the economy has nearly doubled, and the amount of water withdrawn from reservoirs has decreased by one-fifth. Water-saving technologies have been implemented on 60% of irrigated land areas;
-Uzbekistan will chair the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea next year and is ready to carry out the responsible task of managing transboundary basins at a high level;
-Widespread land restoration work is underway. The area of forests has been increased by six million hectares, one-third of which is in the Aral Sea region;
-A "Waste Management Strategy" has been implemented, with investments exceeding three billion dollars;
-Every fifth citizen of the country is a schoolchild or student. Thanks to systematic environmental education and upbringing, by 2050, three-quarters of the population of Uzbekistan will have solid knowledge in the field of nature conservation;
-No country can find solutions to climate problems alone. The scale of risks such as melting glaciers, water scarcity, and drought is increasing in Central Asia. Common threats require joint actions from the countries of the region;
-An initiative was put forward to develop a climate integration model for Central Asia. It was proposed to start this cooperation in three main areas;
-The first is the information direction. It is necessary to create an infrastructure for the exchange of information on climate risks with the support of the World Meteorological Organization;
-The second is the technological direction. Uzbekistan aims to transform the annual Central Asian exhibition "Eco Expo" into a permanent investment and technology platform that provides modern environmental solutions suitable for the region;
-The third is the financial direction. In collaboration with development banks and trust funds, it was proposed to develop new support instruments for Central Asia - preferential grants, as well as "blue" and "arid" financing mechanisms.