Regional : Supporting Regional Actions to Address Climate Change under the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program

Agriculture, natural resources and rural development / Agricultural policy, institutional and capacity development

2.Climate change as the defining challenge for global development. According to the 2022 nationally determined contributions synthesis report, the combined climate pledges made by countries, if all implemented, would result in a global temperature increase of 2.5

C by the end of the century way above the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5

C. National governments must strengthen and implement their climate action plans by 2030 to keep this goal alive. It is important to note that climate change disproportionately affects vulnerable groups, including women, people with disabilities, rural communities, and those with limited access to economic opportunities. The Paris Agreement has formalized the recognition of the climate challenge, and actions are being taken globally, regionally, and nationally. However, these efforts are not yet enough. As a development bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is committed to taking action to address climate change. ADB recognizes the need for reforms by multilateral development banks to increase financing capacity and mobilize private capital to contribute to climate change goals. By working together, countries and development partners can significantly mitigate the effects of climate change and protect vulnerable communities.

3.Regional impact. The CAREC countries are already facing severe impacts of climate change, and the situation is expected to worsen in the future. In 2022-2023, the region witnessed a series of catastrophic events directly linked to climate change. These included the devastating floods in Pakistan, the punishing droughts in Afghanistan and the People's Republic of China, the wildfires and dzud (summer drought followed by severe winter) in Mongolia, and the unprecedented heatwaves in Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries. These events are a stark reminder of the long-term prospects of even more severe impacts of climate change on human lives and economies. Countries within the region must take urgent steps to mitigate carbon emissions and increase their resilience to withstand the worsening impacts of climate change over the coming decades.

4.Regional program's key role in tackling climate change. CAREC plays a unique and crucial role in helping its member countries accelerate climate action regionally. The CAREC platform provides a vital forum for member countries to collaborate and jointly tackle pressing climate-related issues. Climate change has important regional impacts, and many climate issues need to be addressed on a regional basis for maximum effect. This requires regional weather and climate observations and forecasts, and based on those, regional or regionally coordinated plans and action i.e., an all-countries approach within the region. In the CAREC region, such action is especially required for energy, water, agriculture, transportation, and disaster-related early warning and response, where regional climate-resilient infrastructure has to be built and maintained and/or regional public goods (shared energy and water) or public negative externalities (disasters, pollution, and others) have to be managed jointly. Regional climate action requires a readiness by countries to cooperate, it demands a regional strategy that complements national climate change strategies, and it needs regional institutional capacity to support the cooperation process. Finally, mobilizing financing is vital to climate change action and often a severe constraint for an individual country. CAREC paves the way for finance mobilization, enabling member countries to access the resources they need to implement effective climate solutions. In November 2022, the CAREC Ministerial Conference endorsed recommendations for CAREC member countries' collaboration and cooperation to manage climate change issues that affect the region.

A systematic and strategic regional approach to advance climate agenda adopted by the CAREC member countries and supported by ADB

Regional climate change responses in the CAREC operational clusters mainstreamed

CAREC vision on climate change adopted

Policy dialogue and knowledge sharing promoted

Regional low-carbon and climate-resilient investments in the CAREC region identified