The "green" economy is vital

 The current way of life of mankind and the successes achieved by it are the result of life experience accumulated over millennia. Thanks to reason and work, man has made great discoveries and achieved great progress by applying them widely. A striking example is transport, airplanes, ships, advanced technologies, communications, modern computers.
The fundamental foundations of industrial development were created at the crossroads of the Great Silk Road by the ancestors who lived in our region — Ferghani, Khorezmi, Beruni, Mirzo Ulugbek. Since the middle of the XIX century, industry began to develop in Europe. At the beginning of the twentieth century, America became the territory where it gained the highest dynamics.
After the Second World War, rapid development of industries was achieved in East Asian countries. So how much has such progress, such inventions and discoveries changed the relationship between man and nature?
The relationship between man and nature
The life of man and nature is interconnected. Natural resources feed and clothe a person. We improve our standard of living and well-being through the effective use of natural resources.
According to scientist Mikhail Lemeshev, humanity should live and develop on the basis of the laws of nature. If a person does not take them into account, then she will punish him. This idea is confirmed by the current state of the Aral Sea. During the Soviet Union, in order to get more cotton, the waters of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, which used to flow into the Aral Sea, were redirected to the development of virgin lands. As a result, the ecological balance was disrupted.   
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev drew the attention of the whole world to this painful issue. At the initiative of the head of state, large-scale work has begun to improve the environmental situation in the Aral Sea region.
As a result of scientific and technological progress, dynamic economic growth has been achieved in the world. However, the development of industry and agriculture, the increase in population are causing many environmental problems. Due to ill-conceived measures, the territories of forests are being reduced, there is a shortage of water, environmental pollution. 
In the current rapidly changing times, the transition to a "green" economy has become an important vital necessity. Cities are getting bigger and the number of megacities is increasing, which increases the need for energy resources, especially fuel, every day. Due to the human factor, over the past hundred years, the area of cultivated land has decreased by one-fourth, forests have decreased by two-thirds.      
Many animal species are disappearing. According to statistics, 8-10 percent of fauna representatives have died in the world over the past 30 years. Previously, tropical forests accounted for 14 percent, more than 50 percent of animals lived in these territories. Currently, only six percent of the rainforest remains.
Over the past 50 years, drinking water per capita has decreased by 60 percent. Every year, 150-160 thousand cubic meters of water used in industry are drained into rivers and lakes. Due to disasters and technical errors, 25-30 million tons of oil enter the oceans. The industry consumes 300 cubic meters of water to produce one ton of steel, 900 cubic meters to produce one ton of paper. 70 percent of the total volume of water is consumed in agriculture, 20 percent — in industry, 10 percent — in households. According to forecasts, by 2030, 47 percent of the world's population will face the problem of water scarcity.  
Let's study the best practices
As a result of the fact that people did not take into account the laws of nature, the concept of a "brown" economy was formed in the world. The transition from a "brown" to a "green" economy has become a matter of life and death for humanity.
The "green" economy based on the careful attitude of man to nature serves to preserve the purity of the environment, and through the reasonable use of natural resources and manufactured products will contribute to improving living standards. Such concepts that are formed in this process — "green" city, "green" transport, "green" growth, "green" territory, "green" chemistry, "green" technologies and "green" energy are considered important areas that form a "green" economy.
The search for the right solution to environmental problems has led to the fulfillment of an urgent task — the transition to a "green" economy. What experience do you have abroad in this regard?
China is a country with highly developed production, therefore, it has a very large volume of by-products. But this state, along with waste processing, also buys them abroad and receives additional income from processing. According to the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the country imports 50 million tons of electronic and household waste annually. In Beijing, for example, more than 200 thousand people collect garbage. At metro stations, supermarkets have separate reception points for various unusable dishes for a fee. In the capital of the state there is a thermal power plant operating at the expense of waste.
In terms of the production of electric energy, China occupies a leading place in the world, has a huge potential for "green" energy. In the total energy balance, renewable energy together with hydroelectric power plants makes up 20-22 percent. In terms of wind energy, China ranked first in the world in 2015-2017. There are hundreds of large hydroelectric power plants in this country, over 45 thousand small hydroelectric power plants. It is planned to increase the production of environmentally friendly energy to 50 percent by 2030.
The USA is a country with a developed industry and rich in resources for thermal energy. Coal is mined in 15 states, machinery is manufactured in 26 states, and the electronics industry is developed. 55-60 percent of all aircraft in the world are produced at the factories of this country. It produces three trillion kWh of electricity per year, 80 percent of which is the share of private power plants. 60 percent of electricity comes from thermal power plants, 20 percent from nuclear power plants, 20 percent from hydroelectric power plants and renewable energy sources. They are going to produce electricity based on solar energy up to 15 percent by 2030, and up to 27 percent by 2050. Biofuels, in particular, corn, are widely used as an energy resource. Biofuels derived from corn are used as fuel for transport — up to 30 percent. Waste recycling technologies are produced and exported by the United States of America.
The demand for energy resources in Russia is also increasing every year. Russia's Energy Strategy for the period up to 2035 has been adopted there. The country has 22 percent of forests and 20 percent of the planet's drinking water reserves. Its vast territory allows for extensive use of solar energy. Electric energy produced at hydroelectric power plants accounts for 20 percent of the total volume. In this country, waste is the most urgent problem: only 20-25 percent of the 70-75 million tons thrown out per year are recycled.
The Path of Rationalism
Uzbekistan is a country rich in natural resources, having alternative natural sources. There are all opportunities for accelerated development of the "green" economy.
Of course, we are not doing well with the environment. In 2021, a dust storm hit, becoming a natural disaster. According to international measurements, the level of pollution in Tashkent exceeds the permissible norms. The reasons are dust, vehicle exhaust and much more.
Taking into account these aspects, the head of state has defined the tasks for the transition to a "green" economy. Projects have been formed for years to come, and their implementation has begun.
The speech of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, the initiative for the greening of the Aral Sea region and the idea of a nationwide project "Green Space" indicate that actions in this direction have a large scale. Only within the framework of the Green Space project, hundreds of millions of seedlings of ornamental and fruit trees are planned to be planted.
On December 2, 2022, the Presidential decree "On measures to improve the effectiveness of reforms aimed at the transition of the Republic of Uzbekistan to a "green" economy until 2030" was adopted. According to him, a program has been developed to ensure "green" growth until 2030. It defines the current tasks — reducing specific greenhouse gas emissions per unit of gross domestic product by 35 percent from the level of 2010, increasing the production capacity of renewable energy sources to 15 GW and bringing their share in total electricity production to more than 30 percent, significantly improving the efficiency of water use in all sectors of the economy, introducing water-saving irrigation technologies, expanding green areas in cities to more than 30 percent by planting 200 million seedlings per year and bringing the total number of seedlings to more than a billion.
In our country, the population increases annually by 450-500 thousand people. In such conditions, it is very important to effectively use limited reserves of land and water, eliminate environmental problems, and develop a "green" economy. The main goal is to ensure "green" growth and transition in the near future to "green" chemistry, "green" territory, "green" transport.
Meaningfully to ecology
One of the main directions of the transition to a "green" economy is considered to be the improvement of the ecological condition of the area and the efficient use of resources.
The population of the country is growing from year to year and the area of cultivated land is decreasing, as a result of which serious attention is paid to the development of highly profitable industries — growing fruits and vegetables, oilseeds, harvesting food products in demand on the world market, and all this is done by reducing the land allocated for cotton crops.
What other backup capabilities do we have? If we analyze the example of one district, then there are tens of kilometers of the banks of ditches, channels and rivers. Having allocated land to the population on such plots, fruit trees can be planted. 40 fruit trees can be planted on the two banks of the ditch with a length of 100 meters. Watering is not required here, as a result, you can additionally get tons of fruit in the area. This is not just a new source of income, but also a solution to environmental problems.
There are many alternative options for generating electricity in Uzbekistan. Therefore, it is no coincidence that the task has been set to increase the production of renewable, that is, environmentally friendly, energy to 25 percent by 2030.
Taking into account the great importance of electric energy in the sustainable development of economic sectors, large-scale investments are allocated to the sphere. In recent years, with the help of specialists from Japan, South Korea, China and Turkey, the reconstruction of existing thermal power plants has been carried out, technologies using little fuel have been installed. As a result, a reduction in the cost of electric energy has been achieved. It is planned to build 25 solar power plants with a capacity of 100 MW each in Navoi, Tashkent, Samarkand, Jizzakh, Surkhandarya and Kashkadarya regions by 2030.
Another way to generate environmentally friendly electricity is wind farms. According to experts, in Uzbekistan, the possibility of generating electricity at wind farms is 520 GW. The most effective option is considered to be the option of a wind power plant with a capacity of three MW. In this area, the first wind power plant was recently built and put into operation near the Charvak reservoir. Currently, the construction of such stations is carried out in the Bostanlyk district of Tashkent region, Navoi region, Beruniy district of Karakalpakstan, Bukhara and Syrdarya regions.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in his Message to the Oliy Majlis and the People of Uzbekistan noted that the use of small stations powered by renewable energy sources will be significantly expanded. For example, the installation of solar power plants with a capacity of one thousand megawatts at Almalyk, Bekabad plants and other large enterprises of the Tashkent region will allow generating 2.5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year for their own needs. This will cover almost 30 percent of the electricity needs of the Tashkent region and release 500 million cubic meters of gas.
The Head of State stressed that in the same way other regions should make calculations and outline specific plans for the coming year.
The khokims of each district and city of the republic should also implement projects on the use of installations powered by renewable energy sources in households and enterprises with a total capacity of five to ten megawatts.
In general, in the next three years, solar panels and hot water collectors will be installed in all state organizations. For this purpose, investments in the amount of two billion dollars will be attracted. Due to this, 60 percent of electricity and gas consumption will be transferred to "green" energy. For households, the amount of subsidies allocated for the installation of solar panels will be doubled.
One of the main problems in the transition to a "green" economy both globally and in our country is the issue of waste. The negative aspects of the increase in waste are, firstly, air pollution, and secondly, landfills occupying large territories. In Uzbekistan, up to 15 thousand tons of household and solid household waste are generated daily, during the year this amount reaches 5 — 5.5 million tons. Experts suggest that by 2030 this figure will reach seven million tons.
In order to switch to a "green" economy and eliminate environmental problems as soon as possible, it is necessary to carefully use energy resources, water and land, invest in electricity production and waste recycling, strengthen the principle of public-private partnership. In this process, it is important to improve environmental literacy, expand the knowledge and worldview of the population.
The transition to a "green" economy is a complex, large-scale and diversified process with dozens of directions. All this implies widespread use of foreign experience, accelerated implementation of an innovative approach and research work. It is advisable to establish in Uzbekistan the activities of a research institute with the name "Green Economy and Ecology", which has a wide potential. This institute, working in cooperation with the existing departments of ecology of higher educational institutions, at the same time should launch a large-scale environmental propaganda.
Starting from the 2022/2023 academic year, the subject of "green" economics is taught in the magistracy of the Tashkent State University of Economics. The university has organized the publication of the monthly socio-economic, political, popular science magazine "Green Economy and Progress".
 
Achieving high progress and a prosperous life, the development of economic sectors based on modern criteria, a positive solution to environmental problems are important tasks that are carried out not only by the state and responsible persons in this area, but also jointly with the people. It means that the initiatives and goals put forward concern all of us.
A sense of belonging, responsibility in this process should be manifested consciously in the daily activities of each of us.
 
Nosir Makhmudov,
Professor of Tashkent State University of Economics, Doctor of Economics.