TBILISI, Georgia, May 4. CAREC countries have great potential for energy transformation, ADB Special Advisor on Climate Change Warren Evans said as he responded to Trend's question at a briefing at the ADB annual meeting in Tbilisi today.
“The major source of greenhouse gas emissions in CAREC is primarily one or two countries. Many of these countries have very, very low emissions. But at the same time, they have unique opportunities to move their energy sectors to a much higher level of renewable energy and take several actions on energy efficiency and so on. And we support the countries in this,” he said.
According to him, the countries of the South Caucasus and Central Asia are very vulnerable to climate impacts.
“A good example is the melting of glaciers in Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic, which will have serious impacts on all downstream countries in terms of water resources and agriculture. It is therefore very important to focus on improving water management and to think about the fact that by 2040, the region is likely to be significantly affected by droughts due to a lack of access to water. Some of the tributaries that are used by these countries for irrigation and urban water supply will dry up. As a result, glaciers will no longer provide an annual supply of water. So this is unique to the region because of the melting glaciers, but you also face heat waves, droughts, floods, and so on,” he explained.
''It's important to focus on adapting to these climate impacts,'' Evans noted.
“ADB has some initiatives in different countries. We're now discussing with all the current countries the implementation of the ministerial decree on climate issued last year and how to implement it. And we are trying to put together a regional climate change program for the current countries,” the ADB Special Advisor added.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Board of Governors meeting kicked off today in Tbilisi. The opening marks the official start of the ADB's annual meeting. The event is attended by a guest of honor from the host country.
To note, the theme of the 57th Annual Meeting, to be held from May 2 to 5, is Bridge to the Future.
The annual meeting is an opportunity for ADB Governors to address development issues and challenges facing the Asia-Pacific region. Several thousand participants regularly join the meeting, including finance ministers, central bank governors, senior government officials, private sector representatives, representatives of international and civil society organizations, youth, academia, and the media.