Dubai Climate Summit: Uzbekistan's significant contribution and challenges for the future

In recent years, Uzbekistan, having joined the Global Agenda for Sustainable Development and committed itself to ensuring sustainable and progressive economic growth, social integration and environmental protection in the face of climate change, has made significant progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. This indicates that the attitude towards environmental issues has changed significantly in our country: the legislative framework is being improved, a new eco-thinking is being formed, and the ecological culture of the population is increasing.

On December 1, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev took part in the main plenary session of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28), held in Dubai. As the Head of State stressed, climate change has now become the main challenge on the path of sustainable development. This is especially acutely felt in Central Asia and neighboring regions against the background of the Aral tragedy, one of the most devastating environmental crises of our time. During his speech, the leader of Uzbekistan put forward a number of important initiatives, including advocating the early harmonization of the Global Framework Mechanism for Climate Change Adaptation within the framework of the Paris Agreement, proposed the development of a Green Employment program jointly with the International Labor Organization, the creation of a Center for modeling the impact of climate Change on employment and other projects.
Everyone has the right to a favorable environment
Due to the fact that the issues of the environmental agenda are among the most significant, special attention is paid to these aspects. One of the main events of this year was the adoption of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan in a new edition. It defines: democracy in the country is based on universal principles, according to which the highest value is a person, his life, freedom, honor, dignity and other inalienable rights (article 13). The Basic Law includes norms defining the right of everyone to a favorable environment and reliable information about its condition; state protection and rational use of land, its subsoil, water, wildlife and other natural resources; the duty to protect the natural heritage and take care of the environment, as well as other provisions.
It should be emphasized separately that according to the new version of the Constitution, the State: 
- creates conditions for the implementation of public control in the field of urban development in order to ensure the environmental rights of citizens and prevent harmful effects on the environment;
- in accordance with the principle of sustainable development, implements measures to improve, restore and protect the environment, and preserve ecological balance;
- takes measures to protect and restore the ecological system, social and economic development of the Aral Sea region and others.
Thus, we see that the new version of the Basic Law includes provisions that take into account that the sustainable development of the state is based not only on economic growth, social protection, institutional transformations, but also on ensuring the environmental safety of its citizens. This, in turn, indicates an integrated approach to the formation of a democratic, legal, social and secular state that ensures the rights and interests of its citizens, protects their honor and dignity, which is reflected in the Strategy "Uzbekistan - 2030". 
Significant progress has been made in the country in environmental protection issues, the Concept of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Uzbekistan until 2030 has been approved, fundamental reforms have been implemented in the field of environmental protection management and climate change, comprehensive programs are being implemented to improve the environmental situation in all regions of the country, especially in the area affected by the Aral crisis. Given that global climate change on the planet and climate processes in the Central Asian region are increasingly affecting the development of society, Uzbekistan is taking all measures to mitigate their consequences.
As you know, by now the average annual air temperature in the world has exceeded the level of 1880 by 1 oS. In Uzbekistan, which is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change, the average annual air temperature increased by 1.7 degrees over the same period. 
The Aral Sea crisis has a strong negative impact on climatic conditions not only in Uzbekistan, but also throughout Central Asia, causing severe drought and heat in summer and the duration of cold days in winter. Thus, in the Aral Sea region, the number of days with temperatures above 40 ° C has doubled, while in the rest of Uzbekistan it has increased by an average of one and a half. Since the early 1950s, the average temperature increase in the republic has been 0.29 °C per decade, which is more than twice the global warming rate.
Climate warming has a negative impact on the state of ecosystems, which leads to an aggravation of the environmental situation in all regions of the country. Due to climate change, water scarcity in the region is increasing, soil degradation is intensifying, and dust storms are becoming more frequent. All this has a negative impact on the health of the population, especially residents of the Aral Sea region. 
Climate change has a significant impact on environmental parameters and the life of society. There is a shift in the boundaries of the seasons, the cyclical nature and distribution of precipitation are disrupted, changes in the land landscape (desertification, waterlogging) occur, water use and evaporation increase. The secondary consequences are climate migration and the negative impact on the economy.
Based on this, it can be argued that the search and implementation of effective solutions to stabilize the water system of the region should become a priority area of activity requiring joint efforts. Stabilization of the system of mountain glaciers and ecosystems of upper water intakes is possible through the introduction of innovative measures. At the same time, it is necessary to focus efforts on preserving and increasing water resources, optimizing and improving the efficiency of their use, stabilizing the state of the Aral Sea, minimizing the impact of drought, and stopping desertification processes. An integrated approach, taking into account the maximum number of influencing factors, will become the basis for optimizing the socio-economic well-being of the region.
International agreements
At the summits of heads of state and high-level forums, the leadership of Uzbekistan has put forward a number of important initiatives to consolidate efforts in solving global and regional environmental problems and jointly combat climate change. 
Our country's delegations are regular participants in international environmental forums on various issues of environmental protection and climate change. In particular, the Central Asian Conferences on climate change (CACIC), regional meetings of representatives of parliaments and ministries of foreign affairs, as well as in the preparation of a joint statement of the Central Asian countries at the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-26 in Glasgow (2021), COP-27 in Sharm el-Sheikh (2022), COP-28 in Dubai (2023). 
Uzbekistan is a party to the Paris Agreement, adopted by 196 states at the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP21) on December 12, 2015 in Paris. In order to fulfill obligations under this international document, the Presidential Decree of October 4, 2019 approved the Strategy for the transition of the Republic of Uzbekistan to a "green" economy for the period 2019-2030. The strategy provides for the solution of ambitious tasks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 35 percent and reduce the energy intensity of the economy.
An important area of combating climate change is the accelerated development of renewable energy, in particular solar and wind energy. Uzbekistan has identified promising tasks to bring the share of renewable energy in the country's total energy balance to 25 percent by 2026, and by 2030 - to introduce renewable energy with a total capacity of 25 thousand megawatts and bring the share of renewable energy to 40 percent of the total capacity of the country's energy system.
Currently, large-scale projects are being implemented to launch 19 solar power plants with a total capacity of 3,977 megawatts and seven wind power plants with a total capacity of 3,100 megawatts.
An important aspect of Uzbekistan's transition to a "green" economy is the development of environmentally friendly transport. Motor transport is the second largest consumer of energy resources and, along with the industrial sector, one of the main pollutants of the environment. In general, the share of emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere from vehicles currently reaches 65 percent in the country, and in large cities exceeds 85 percent. One of the environmentally effective steps is the use of electric vehicles. By 2030, the government plans to increase the share of electric vehicles in the total auto market to 15 percent. To do this, a full cycle of production of electric vehicles and components is being created based on available natural resources (lithium, graphite, copper). To encourage the purchase of electric vehicles, a number of benefits, including exemption from taxes and customs duties, were provided from April 1, 2022 to April 31, 2030.
Climate change in the Central Asian region is significantly affected by the drying up of the Aral Sea and the formation of a new Aralkum desert on the dried-up bottom of the reservoir, from the territory of which about 90 million tons of sand and salt are annually carried into the atmosphere. 
In order to reduce salt and dust transfer, large-scale afforestation works were carried out on the drained bottom of the Aral Sea in 2018-2023. Protective forest plantations of desert plants such as saxaul, cherkez, kandym have been created on an area of about 1.8 million hectares.