BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 7. Uzbekistan proposes creating an international center for climate laws and damage assessment, Ambassador of Uzbekistan to the UK Ravshan Usmanov said, addressing the Caspian Energy Security and Post-COP29 Conference in London, Trend reports.
He pointed out the severity of climate change and its effects: “Today, climate change has emerged as the foremost global challenge contributing to increased geopolitical tensions. We feel these effects in Central Asia; climate challenges are becoming new obstacles to improving the quality of life for our nations.”
He further spoke on the efforts undertaken by his country in green energy transition, stating that, “Uzbekistan proposes the establishment of an international center for climate laws and damage assessment.”
“We are actively advancing projects in solar, and over the past five years, 38 agreements have been signed with international companies to construct a capacity of 21,000 megawatts. We plan to increase the share of green energy to 40 percent and global production of critical minerals must be increased 6-fold by 2040.”
Commenting on Azerbaijan’s COP29 Presidency, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to the UK Elin Suleymanov said, “The most important thing is, despite all the distractions and geopolitical challenges, I think the parties to the conference and Azerbaijan's conference presidency have managed to keep its focus on the most important challenge, which is climate change.”
Suleymanov also mentioned that the climate conference was seen “as a regional effort, a Caspian COP.” Specifically, Ambassador Suleymanov spoke on some of the achievements of COP29, including the $300 billion climate financing agreement: “For the last 15 years, that discussion has been happening, and no outcome was reached. Now it has, and it was reached in Baku, which is very important.”
“For the first time, you see the institutional movement focusing on green transition in the region. That is not something that comes from the outside, it comes from the region itself,” he added.
Suleymanov also spoke on Azerbaijan’s as well as the Caspian region’s role in enhancing Europe’s energy security: “The Central Asia Trans-Caspian Green Energy Corridor — that is something that is fundamentally a game-changer in the region.”
“It’s important to achieve a green energy transition without undermining the economy and energy security,” reflected Osman Koray Ertaş, the Ambassador of Türkiye to the UK.
“The picture is quite challenging. What we need is global motivation and global leadership on a green transition, as well as working harder on the financing aspects,” Ambassador Ertaş added. He also spoke of the importance for Türkiye to expand its use of renewable energy and to achieve energy security, especially with the help of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.
“We continue to focus on energy security. We continue to support the energy security of our neighbors in south-eastern Europe. We have deals with Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Serbia,” he stressed.”
“COP29 gave the countries of the region a platform to show we are as committed to sustainable energy as the rest of the world, but we have our own challenges on the ground. We are working very hard to align our national capabilities with the general agenda,” said Magzhan Ilyassov, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the U.K.
Speaking on Kazakhstan’s growing focus on energy security, Ilyassov further added: “It is important to diversify the energy mix in our country. The final pillar is to develop a range of low-carbon energy sources beyond solar and wind. I am talking about hydrogen, nuclear, and natural gas.”
“Energy security is increasingly regionalized, one big outcome for us is we become stronger and better aware of ourselves as a sustainable energy-related region. We can support each other by working together,” concluded Ambassador Ilyassov.
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