UK Inaugurates International Climate Change Fund for Central Asia - Astana Times
UK Inaugurates International Climate Change Fund for Central Asia - The Astana Times
ASTANA – The United Kingdom’s (UK) government has established an international fund dedicated to climate change in Central Asia for the first time, UK Ambassador to Kazakhstan Kathy Leach said at a Feb. 16 meeting with Kazakh Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Nurzhan Nurzhigitov, reported the ministry’s press service.
Photo credit: ankasam.org
The fund will provide support to five Central Asian countries to combat the adverse effects of climate change. Additionally, the UK is willing to collaborate with the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea.
Leach stressed the UK’s intention to interact with Kazakhstan not only within regional but also bilateral cooperation. Outlining three priority areas of the latter, Nurzhigitov included work with the Caspian Sea Research Institute, exchange of experience and attraction of experts from the UK, and postgraduate education opportunities for students in technical fields and professionals in water diplomacy.
Leach expressed the UK’s readiness to support the training of master’s and doctoral candidates through the Bolashak scholarship program and proposed exploring the potential for joint double-degree education programs.
The British delegation said the UK is ready to invite world-class experts in hydrogeology, irrigation, glacier studies, and other relevant fields to Kazakhstan.
Leach highlighted the interest of British companies involved in wastewater treatment technologies in working in Kazakhstan, mentioning a successful project in Shymkent that resulted in a 25% reduction in water consumption.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”