REGIONAL CENTER FOR TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO CLIMATE CHANGE IN CENTRAL ASIA
The policy environment protection pursued by the Honorable President is a priority requirement for the large-scale socio-economic transformations ongoing in Turkmenistan. By implementing the national environmental strategy, our country actively interacts in this field with major international organizations, primarily with the UN. Our Homeland is systematically promoting significant initiatives in this regard at the international level.
From 19 to 26 September 2023, the 78th session of the UN General Assembly was held at the United Nations headquarters in New York. During the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, the Head of State proposed to the global community the establishment of Regional Center for Technologies related to Climate Change in Central Asia and the creation of the Caspian Environmental Initiative. In this regard, a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) was also signed.
The Turkmen side considers this document as the first step and a serious legal prerequisite for substantively considerating the issue of opening the UN Regional Center for Climate Change Technologies in Central Asia in Ashgabat.
A statement of national position on climate change and environmental security, was made by the President of Turkmenistan at the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-28) in Dubai on December 1–2, 2023, it was published and distributed in six official languages of the UN as an official document of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly.
The statement was published under the agenda items for the current session of the General Assembly «Protection of the Global Climate in the interests of Current and Future Generations of Humanity» and «Zone of Peace, Trust and Cooperation in Central Asia».
The National Climate Change Strategy adopted in 2012 is the starting point towards the full involvement of our state in the global climate agenda. The next logical step was Turkmenistan’s accession to the Paris Climate Agreement. In 2019, in this regard, a new version of the National Climate Change Strategy was approved. The document is inclusive and includes an expanded list of measures to adapt almost all key sectors of the economy and society to new requirements. Particular attention is paid to the fuel and energy sector, where a lot of work is being done to reduce emissions by increasing the volume of utilization of associated petroleum gas and reducing the loss of natural gas during its transportation.
As a responsible State, Turkmenistan recognizes the need to continue focused work at the international and national levels to ensure further progress in the fight against climate change and its consequences. In this regard, the initiative of the President of Turkmenistan to establish a Regional Center for Climate Technologies has become very relevant.
As an active participant in the international dialogue on an important area such as ecology, Turkmenistan promoting deepening and expanding of positive cooperation in the UN format, the development of effective partnerships with other large organizations and structures, and strives to contribute to optimizing interaction on issues that affect the future of all humanity.
It is worth noting that Turkmenistan constantly monitors climate change issues and is an active participant in this international agenda. The country has ratified the main multilateral agreements related to this issue, and its position is reflected in the new edition of the National Climate Change Strategy of Turkmenistan.
Tofe HOSHANOVA,
lecturer of the Department of International Law and Comparative Jurisprudence of the
Institute of International Relations of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.