Statement by the UN Resident Coordinator in the Kyrgyz Republic on the occasion of the Regional Conference “Adaptation planning and financing in the Central Asian region: Road to COP-29”

Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Edil Baisalov, 

Minister of Natural Resources, Ecology and Technical Supervision, Meder Mashiev, 

Representatives from Central Asian countries, 

Excellencies,

Colleagues, 

It is a great honor to address all of you this morning, on behalf of the UN system in Kyrgyzstan, at this important stepping-stone towards COP-29 for Central Asia. I want to start by expressing my admiration and gratitude to the Kyrgyz Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology and Technical Supervision for hosting this regional conference, with support from the UN, most notably UNDP. It is good to see that the Central Asian countries share a collective understanding of the transboundary nature of the impacts of climate change and have gathered here to define a joint Central Asian stance on adaptation and financing of climate goals for COP-29. 

As President Japarov prominently mentioned during his speech at the 79th session of the UN General Assembly yesterday, adaptation to climate change is among the three most pressing challenges facing the country, together with a need for scaling up access to finance including the provision of specialized funding to enhance climate resilience. 

The priority attached by the country’s leadership to climate change does not come as a surprise: Although Kyrgyzstan’s contribution to global warming is comparatively low, the country is the third most vulnerable country to climate change in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. This vulnerability largely stems from its mountainous terrain with glaciers and a significant agricultural sector. 

Over the past 12 years, climate-induced natural disasters have increased 1.5 times, with significant economic and societal impacts. This year alone has registered over 300 cases of mudflows due to intense precipitation causing human casualties, economic loss and the loss of livelihoods. Climate change poses risks in key areas like access to water, energy, agricultural productivity and food security, biodiversity and tourism with potentially varying yet huge impact on communities, if not adequately addressed.

Dear participants,

Adaptation plans have become essential tools for helping countries and communities cope with the imminent challenges of a changing climate. Embedding national adaptation plans into wider regional strategies takes into account the transboundary nature of the impacts of climate change, which are particularly poignant in our region where the expeditious melting of glaciers risks to impact both upstream and downstream countries in manifold ways while droughts are at the same time affecting huge parts of the region. This is mentioning only a few aspects of the impact, requiring transboundary cooperation. 

I am happy to see that Central Asia is a trailblazer in this regard, with national adaption plans either in place or up for endorsement and a regional adaption plan conceived, both of which will certainly inspire the formulation of a joint position of Central Asian countries for COP-29. 

The upcoming COP-29 presents a unique opportunity to create a consensus around adaptation needs, practices and financing tools, thereby filling the provisions of the Pact for the Future, adopted at this week’s Summit of the Future with life. In the Pact, UN Member States recognize that “adaptation finance will have to be significantly scaled up to (…) support the urgent and evolving needs to accelerate adaptation and build resilience in developing countries, while emphasizing that finance, capacity-building and technology transfer are critical enablers of climate action”. 

I have high hopes that the countries participating in COP-29 will agree to enhancing support for the implementation of national and regional adaptation plans, including through financial commitments and technical assistance. This will also prepare the ground for the development of third generations of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to be presented by Member States before COP-30 in Brazil.

Ladies and gentlemen,

For adaptation to be effective, it needs to be based on scientific evidence; take into account the trans-sectorial nature of climate change impact that necessitates holistic and multi-stakeholder approaches that include the business community, banking sector and civil society; and access to new technologies and finance. Climate funds and mobilizing philanthropy for climate action are considered an important contribution to creating the enabling environment for success. Equally, joining forces of all development partners, including bilateral donors, international organisations and IFIs is critical for success.

The UN system in Kyrgyzstan partners in manifold ways with Kyrgyzstan to facilitate this process in every possible way. 

• The UN Country Team supports the implementation of the National Determined Contributions, the National Adaptation Plan, and the country’s plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.  
• We are exploring the establishment of a Conservation Trust Fund to boost investments in the mountain ecosystem. 
• We have proposed numerous side events in Baku focused on fostering adaptation practices, introduction of digital solutions, biodiversity conservation, sustainable forestry and pastures management, just transition and human development, climate risks, and interlinkages between gender equality, women empowerment and climate change.   
• Equally, we support the organization of the pre-COP climate week held in early October to raise awareness among a wider public about climate change and what the State and society can do to mitigate its impact and adapt policies and practices.

As you formulate your common position for COP-29, I would like to encourage you to develop practical yet ambitious recommendations and measures that will help all countries of Central Asia in their efforts to mitigate impacts of climate change and enhance adaptive abilities of people. 

I wish you productive discussions.

Thank you.