UNRC Ozonnia Ojielo National Forum on Development of Renewable Energy (as delivered)

Dear Akylbek Usenbekovich (Head of the Cabinet of Ministers)

Dear Mr. Aitaliev (Deputy Minister of Economy and Commerce)

Dear Ms. Kutmanova (Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Technical Supervision)

Dear Members of Parliament,

Friends from the private sectors,

Colleagues from the development community,

Dear distinguished participants,

I am happy to be here at the National Forum and to share a perspective on the potential of the development of renewable energy in the Kyrgyz Republic. Thank you, Chair of the Cabinet of Ministers, for a very inspiring statement on where the country wants to go and I would like to assure you that the United Nations systems stands with the government in this direction. We know that the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources is a politically fraught conversation to have in many countries, given the degree of vested interests that may be affected by this transition. So I would like to congratulate the government for the courage and the determination to establish this dialogue, which at the end of today’s meeting will result in a resolution to be adopted on the ways forward.

The reality of today is that more than 10,000 years of continuous and accelerating progress have brought human civilization to the point of threatening the very condition that have made that human progress possible. That is the stability of the earth’s climate. The physical manifestations of the Triple Planetary Crisis (climate, nature and pollution) are increasingly visible across the globe, as are their socioeconomic impacts on the development trajectory and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Both will continue to grow, most likely in a nonlinear manner, until the world transitions to a net-zero emission economy, and unless it adapts to a changing climate in the meantime. No wonder, therefore, that an ever-greater number of governments and companies are committing to accelerating climate action.

The world is currently far off the target of the 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming limit that has been set by the scientific community. The Central Asia and Kyrgyzstan in particular at risk from these dynamics, considering the potential for a 6.5oC increase in temperatures by 2100, and the severe consequences on humans and the environment that already being felt. Women have been disproportionately impacted, especially those in rural areas, since they do not have the same access to resources and decision-making power as men.

We see many strong evidences that decision-makers in this country not only understand the importance of addressing the challenge but are making every effort to ensure that these initiatives are successful. And your whole statement clearly demonstrates the direction of travel for the country. Despite low emission levels (0,03% of the global emissions) that we see in Kyrgyzstan, the Kyrgyz Republic remains fully committed to addressing the global challenge of climate change, and is taking big strides towards increasing the share of renewable sources as a priority. We see this in many documents published by the government, including the National Determined Contributions.

I would like to mention a few directions that have been articulated by the government.

Chair of the Cabinet of Ministers, you have referred to the messages of the President to the UN General Assembly in September 2021, as well as his address at the Summit of World Leaders on Climate Change, when he declared that the Kyrgyz Republic remains committed to the spirit and objectives of the Paris Agreement and stated the country’s intention to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 as well as mentioning the renewable energy, primarily hydropower, as the key driver of carbon-free policy. The President also proposed to organize a Central Asia-UN summit in 2022 aimed to enhance cooperation with UN especially in sustainable development in Central Asia. I would like to inform you, Chair of the Cabinet of Ministers, that I have passed on these wishes to the office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and they are in discussions with the Kyrgyz mission in New York on the possibility of the UN Secretary-General participating in this meeting.

• The Kyrgyz Republic has signed and ratified 13 international environmental conventions. It ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in January 2000 and the Kyoto Protocol in January 2003. In November 2006, it signed – with Tajikistan and Turkmenistan – the Framework Convention on Environmental Protection for Sustainable Development in Central Asia. It signed the Paris Agreement on Climate Change in September 2016, followed by formal ratification in February 2020;
• Kyrgyzstan ratified the Statute of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) at the beginning of 2021. Kyrgyzstan's accession to IRENA will expand the range of cooperation and exchange of experience with other countries in the development of renewable energy sources, introduction of advanced technologies and attracting investment in renewable energy are also part of the benefits. We support the initiative of Ministry of Energy on ‘Green billion’ - 1 billion of kW energy will be generated from all types of renewable energy. This could be the key to the country's climate commitment.
• The National Green Economy Strategy 2019-2023 that was developed with the support of Partnership Action on Green Economy, a joint collaboration between five United Nations agencies — UNEP, UNDP, ILO, UNIDO, and UNITAR, sets the green energy and the development of the renewable energy sources among the key priority sectors for the Kyrgyz Republic;
• The National Development Programme until 2026 reiterates the importance of the development of the renewables to ensure the transformation of the economy of the Kyrgyz Republic to a sustainable development path;
• In 2015 Kyrgyzstan submitted its intended nationally determined contribution (INDC), outlining both adaptation and mitigation targets and actions. As part of mitigation targets, the country pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 13.8% by 2030 compared to the business as usual scenario, and by up to 31% with international support;

In 2021, the Kyrgyz Republic has further increased its ambition and submitted a new revised Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) with clear quantifiable mitigation and adaptation targets and a financial plan for implementation committed to reduce GHG emissions by 16.63 percent of GHG emission levels by 2025 unconditionally, and by 36.61 percent with international support;

The important role of collaboration among the development partners, with the leadership and collaborative engagement of a host of partners played a key role in the development of NDC. In this respect I would like to solute the collaboration between UNDP, GIZ, IFAD, FAO, IRENA and other agencies.

It is important to mention that Kyrgyzstan was the first country in Central Asia to submit its NDCs to the secretariat of UNFCCC.

We see the remarkable stories globally on how the share of renewables is rising and the decommissioning of fossil fuel power generation. Renewable energy has cemented its position as the dominant source for power capacity worldwide, thanks in large part to sustained policy support and cost reductions. In 2019, a record 200 gigawatts (GW) of renewable power capacity was added, more than three times the level of fossil fuel and nuclear capacity. Over 27% of global electricity now comes from renewables, up from 19% in 2010. Declining renewable energy technology prices (evident for solar PV and wind) further strengthen the case for more ambitious targets. We know that when we take away the fossil fuel subsidies the renewable energy becomes the cheapest of energy.

A social revolution is also under way: people around the world are demanding more action on climate change, and as many as 1,480 jurisdictions in 28 countries have declared a “climate emergency”. Public opinion polls worldwide have shown that people are in favor of using more renewables and are increasingly aware of the multiple benefits that renewable energy brings in terms of health, jobs, resilience and climate change mitigation.

We understand that recognizing the ambitious energy targets of NDCs for Kyrgyzstan are also dependent on international support. The United Nations Development System in the Kyrgyz Republic, together with the government, is now designing the new United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2023-27. The new Cooperation Framework will establish the key programmatic priorities for the UN Country Team in the Kyrgyz Republic over the next five years starting in January 2023 in full alignment with national ownership, national leadership, and national priorities. Our Country Team started the Cooperation Framework process with a foresight and scenario analysis exercise, building on where Kyrgyzstan will be in ten year’s time. Dear Chair of the Cabinet of Ministers, nothing would be more foundational about that the direction of travel that you have made in your ambitious statement this morning, with which we fully associate ourselves. Building on this important momentum, the UN system in the Kyrgyz Republic, among the other key dimensions that we hope to propose in the new Cooperation Framework, will be leveraging our capacities to support an inclusive and integrated management of climate and environmental risks for resilient development with sustainable energy solutions as one of the key components.

We will continue to organize our strong expertise and propose solutions for accelerated deployment of renewables through strengthening the legal and regulatory reform, policy support mechanisms, long-term energy planning, capacity development in the public and private sectors, and facilitating financing and de-risking investment.

Apart from the other key drivers of sustainable development, the private sector has an enormous role in providing solutions to climate change. As one of the demonstrative good examples, the projects financed by blended finance programs are on track to achieve emission reduction of over 18 million tons of carbon each year. This is roughly equivalent to 5.5 million cars off the roads every year. Private sector investments in renewable power and fuels reached record levels in 2019. Corporate sourcing of renewables grew more than 40%, with agreements signed in 23 countries, and some in the order of gigawatts. Membership in RE100 (the global corporate renewable energy initiative bringing together hundreds of large and ambitious businesses committed to 100% renewable electricity) grew at least 27% during the year to 229 global corporations. Climate-related initiatives helped to create thousands of jobs and increase economic opportunities for vulnerable groups, including women and youth. One point that is not often mentioned is terms of the approach the government wants to take on renewable energy is the possibility of job creation as well for tens of thousands of young people to empower themselves economically and through that spread wealth to their communities as well.  

Therefore, building sustainable alliances with the private sector will be one of the core elements of our strategy of the new Cooperation Framework, together with IFI colleagues as well. We have an ambition to strengthen our brokerage and convening role and seek new business models that would help to disseminate best practices, establish standards, scale-up investment horizons, manage uneven impacts, and support further coordination of efforts. We plan to continue our dialogue with Kyrgyz diaspora and IFI partners to jointly create financial products and market instruments for the diaspora to invest into climate-resilient initiatives. Our continued collective efforts with the regional and international hubs and IFIs and neighboring countries (Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Russia, for example) are aimed to learn from their green approaches and see what is applicable here for us. We hope to thereby leverage the sustainable climate financing in the support of the Kyrgyzstan’s ambitions towards decarbonizing, to combat the climate change and creating the jobs and economic opportunities for the people.

Dear partners,

We need no proof that Kyrgyzstan has great potential to become a net zero emission country. We also need no proof of the ambition of Kyrgyzstan to scale up renewable and green energy solutions. All of that are possible by using policies and incentives that will accelerate the use of renewable energy, energy efficiency and electric vehicles. We have an opportunity for us to work together for the Kyrgyz Republic to become a leader in Central Asia in the use of renewables and also the fight against climate change. It is in our common interest to achieve a sustainable and inclusive recovery that is aligned with the principles of building back better. We, therefore, call for coordinated, multi-stakeholder action to achieve an effective energy system evolution through more thoughtful, decisive, and urgent action to construct a green, sustainable and resilient future for Kyrgyzstan.

I pledge the UN’s most collaboration and participation in this enterprise.

Chon Rakhmat!

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