BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 24. Uzbekistan has set target that aims to decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per unit of GDP by 35 percent by 2030 from 2010 level, Trend reports via the CAREC Energy Outlook 2030, prepared by the experts of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
According to the report, previously, the conditional target aimed to decrease GHG emissions per unit of GDP by 10 percent by 2030 compared to 2010.
“Uzbekistan has proven its commitment to respond to climate change by submitting its first nationally determined contribution (NDC) in 2017 and updated NDC in 2021. However, the country has set only a conditional target, meaning that achieving its objective depends on support from international organizations, access to low-carbon technologies, and climate financing,” the reports said.
ADB noted that Uzbekistan’s economy is expected to more than triple in size during this period, the NDC target does not prevent the corresponding threefold increase of GHG emissions in the country by 2030.
Furthermore, Uzbekistan’s NDC does not provide sector-specific targets; thus, it is assumed that carbon intensity reductions would be equal across all sectors of the economy. Historically, energy-related emissions in Uzbekistan have reached nearly 80 percent of the country’s total GHG emissions.
Assuming a comparable share in the future, the NDC’s target translates to nearly 490 million tons of CO2 equivalent energy-related emissions in 2030, compared to around 115 million tons in 2018.
“Uzbekistan will achieve its conditional target under all scenarios. However, given the structure of the target - which does not impose specific measures for the energy sector, the major source of carbon emissions in Uzbekistan - there is room for more ambitious carbon reduction achievements compared to the targets set in the NDC. Total energy-related GHG emissions are expected to range 125–180 million tons of CO2 equivalent in 2030, depending on the scenario,” the report said.