TAHSKENT, Uzbekistan, November 28. The World Bank believes that without any strategies on climate change mitigation, Uzbekistan will not be able to achieve its development vision, Trend reports.
According to the World Bank's Country Climate and Development Report, climate change impacts are anticipated to lead to increased economic instability and weaker growth in Uzbekistan, with the economy being ten percent less by 2050 than it would have been without climate damages.
"Uzbekistan cannot achieve its development goals unless climate action is taken. The country is on a rapid growth path, but it is not lowering emission intensity," the research stresses.
According to the Bank, climate change realities are increasingly likely to undermine the country's ambitious economic aspirations for two reasons:
"First, Uzbekistan's projected rapid population and economic growth will place unreasonable strains on key resources and ecosystems. As a result, unless growth is made more sustainable, this trajectory is likely to be unattainable.
And second, unless action is taken on adaptation, climate change will cause serious harm to Uzbekistan, whose geography, ecology, and unsustainable economic structures mean that climate change damages will be severe,” the bank’s analysts note".
Meanwhile, Uzbekistan and the World Bank have signed an agreement on the provision of financing in the amount of $46.2 million to reform the country’s energy sector.
The funds are said to be used to implement the project Innovative Carbon Financing for the Transformation of the Energy Sector of Uzbekistan (iCraft), aimed at producing clean energy, improving energy efficiency, and reforming energy subsidies.