From climate plans to implementation: Officials call for practical action and climate funding

Opening the session, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Kazakhstan Yerlan Nyssanbayev outlined the country’s progress in advancing its climate agenda, while stressing that the next critical phase lies in practical implementation.

He noted that Kazakhstan is moving toward carbon neutrality by 2060 and aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 17% by 2035 from 1990 levels. At the same time, he emphasized that achieving these targets will require substantial financial resources and stronger coordination across institutions.

“Kazakhstan is consistently moving toward achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. The updated NDC-3 calls for a 17% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 from 1990 levels. However, the transition from commitments to practical implementation requires a well-established system for project preparation and effective cooperation with financial institutions. This is why climate finance is becoming a top priority,” he said.

At the same time, the minister pointed to a persistent gap between planning and execution, noting that while countries across the region have developed strategies and roadmaps, financing remains insufficient. He also highlighted Kazakhstan’s initiative to establish a national climate investment platform aimed at streamlining project preparation and improving coordination between government bodies and financial institutions.

“Considering the transboundary nature of climate challenges in Central Asia, it is essential for us to develop not only national but also regional approaches. In this context, today’s session has practical significance. It is important for us to discuss approaches to project implementation, coordination mechanisms between government bodies, and tools that will ensure climate initiatives are delivered in practice,” Nyssanbayev added.

From a broader regional perspective, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme Haoliang Xu highlighted both the opportunities and structural barriers facing green investment in Central Asia. According to him, despite growing momentum, green projects across the region continue to face systemic challenges, including high perceived risks and limited access to long-term affordable financing.

“Moving from ambition to investment requires overcoming critical bottlenecks. Across the region, green projects face persistent barriers: the perception of high risk, which drives up capital costs; the lack of long-term affordable financing; the absence of horizontal, harmonized definitions, which creates market confusion; and insufficient environmental, social, and governance disclosure, alongside other market distortions. These challenges require structural market shifts and collective effort. Central Asia is already making clear progress in developing its green finance market. The next step is to scale up,” he said.

He added that scaling up investment will depend on improving financial frameworks and expanding the use of blended finance instruments.

A representative of Uzbekistan drew attention to the growing environmental pressures across the region, stressing that climate risks are already having tangible economic and social impacts. He outlined potential approaches to strengthening resilience while unlocking new economic opportunities.

“The desert economy concept could focus on drought-resistant crops, including halophytes, climate-resilient livelihoods, and nature-based solutions. Such an approach would help align policies, attract investment, and unlock the economic potential of drylands while maintaining ecological sustainability. The presidents of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have recently established the Clean Air Interstate Consortium, a major step to address transboundary air pollution in Central Asia,” he said.

“Given the GCF’s leadership in regional green growth, we propose aligning the consortium’s projects with investment priorities and financial instruments. The consortium will focus on five integrated areas: industrial transition, ecosystem restoration, joint monitoring and control systems, science, and green finance. It is designed to combine technical, environmental, scientific, and investment solutions to reduce emissions, prevent dust storms, and strengthen regional environmental security.”

He further emphasized the importance of strengthening scientific and technological capacity to support climate action in the region.

“In this regard, it is essential to build regional scientific capacity, bringing together research centers, hydrometeorological services, universities, and sectoral institutes to work jointly on land degradation, water stress, drought, dust and sandstorms, and ecosystem resilience. Such partnerships should support not only knowledge exchange, but also applied solutions that can be scaled through climate finance. At the same time, the region needs stronger technological platforms, including climate, land and water monitoring systems, remote sensing, early warning systems, geoanalytics, and project preparation tools. These platforms are essential for turning climate risk into measurable data and data into bankable projects. Without a strong scientific base and modern technological platforms, climate finance will remain fragmented. Central Asia needs durable institutional mechanisms to support adaptation, desertification response, and long-term climate project implementation,” the representative said.

Director for Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East at the Green Climate Fund Thomas Eriksson focused on the importance of building strong investment pipelines and coordination mechanisms to unlock large-scale financing.

“Opportunities are clear: climate-resilient water systems, renewable energy, modernized grids, resilient infrastructure, sustainable land use, food security, and more livable climate-resilient cities. Many of these, as we have heard, are inherently regional challenges. This requires strong coordination across the region and collective approaches. And with this movement to proceed in this region, I think we have a very strong foundation for that,” he said.

Earlier, heads of state and foreign delegations jointly visited the RES 2026 EXPO International Exhibition of Green and Sustainable Technologies.