BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, April 4. The funds allocated for climate finance do not meet the expectations of developing countries, the President of Kyrgyzstan, Sadyr Zhaparov, said at a climate forum on the sidelines of the EU-Central Asia Summit in Samarkand, Trend reports.
“The EU is among the main donors of climate finance. However, the funds allocated do not meet the expectations of developing countries. The outcome of the COP29 conference in Baku demonstrated this clearly. In this context, I would like to draw attention to the fact that countries allocate billions and trillions of dollars of funding for wars and conflicts, while the amounts allocated for combating climate change and protecting the environment are incomparably smaller. I would also like to note that the process and mechanism for obtaining climate finance are still complex. Financial resources are not concentrated and are distributed through a large number of different funds and banking structures. I believe that this is not conducive to efficient and fair distribution,” he said.
''It is important that climate finance is directed to the needs and priorities of the most vulnerable developing countries, which lack their own funds, resources, and technologies for mitigation and adaptation to climate change, as well as for the green transition in general.
“In addition to the interests of small island states and least developed countries, the interests of mountainous developing countries, which are among the most vulnerable to climate change, must also be taken into account. European partners have moved to more active support of Central Asian countries both in terms of climate finance and new technologies,” the President noted.
“The European Union has joined Kyrgyzstan's initiative to swap external debt for climate and sustainable development projects. We propose restructuring of the countries' external public debt by applying debt swap mechanisms for specific green projects,” Zhaparov concluded.