Uzbekistan Environment - The Times Of Central Asia

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Central Asian Leaders Arrive in Azerbaijan for UN COP29 Climate Summit

The 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) opened in Azerbaijan's capital Baku on November 11, drawing approximately 50,000 participants, including government representatives, politicians, investors, and environmentalists from 198 countries. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev attended the Summit, where he was welcomed by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Tokayev will open the plenary session and hold talks with various heads of state, as well as representatives of international organizations and businesses. Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov has also arrived at the conference and is scheduled to address the opening session on November 12. He will participate in the special session “High-Level Dialogue: Advancing the Mountain Agenda and Mainstreaming Mountains and Climate Change,” organized by Kyrgyzstan with the support of Azerbaijan and Mongolia. This discussion will also feature Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, Nepali President Ram Chandra Poudel, and representatives of international organizations. Russia is represented at the summit by its Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. Additionally, representatives of the Taliban, which the UN does not recognize as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, have been included in the delegation for the first time. Armenia, however, has not yet confirmed its participation due to ongoing territorial disputes with Azerbaijan. The Summit is being held at the Baku Olympic Stadium, with sessions set to conclude on November 22. COP29 has been termed a “finance summit” due to its primary focus on financing developing nations in the fight against climate change. Delegates are also working to establish a framework to improve national emissions reduction programs.

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Uzbekistan Aims to Develop Agriculture with Smarter Water and Energy Use

Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev recently held a meeting on the efficient use of water and energy in agriculture. More than 1,600 pumping stations currently use 6.8 billion kilowatts of electricity to irrigate 2.5 million hectares. Through the partnership, electricity consumption can be reduced by 20% by upgrading pumps and solar panels. For example, 92 farmers installed modern pumps in the Khorezm region, saving 20% of electricity. Some sold excess solar energy to the state and received an additional monthly income of 7-8 million UZS ($548-626). Water-saving technologies have helped Uzbekistan save 2 billion cubic meters of water in an area of more than 2 million hectares, and more than 50 local companies are producing these devices. However, some drip irrigation systems are still not working, and the 10 billion UZS ($780,000) subsidy allocated for laser leveling in Karakalpakstan hasn’t been used. Khorezm was also instructed to extend the subsidy for laser leveling to 1 million UZS ($78.00) per hectare and improve control over these technologies. Next year, 700 billion UZS ($54 million) in subsidies and 2.5 trillion UZS ($195 million) in credit will be used for water-saving technology. Additionally, flood reservoirs will be built in 13 districts, improving the water supply for 50,000 hectares. Mirziyoyev emphasized that real change requires digitization. About 1,700 online monitoring devices and 12,000 smart water devices are already in place, but Uzbekistan needs a system to collect and analyze this data. To address this, a Water Management Digitization Center will be set up to manage a new unified system for tracking water use.

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EBRD and EU Support Solar Power Project in Uzbekistan

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing funds to construct a solar power plant in Uzbekistan’s Khorezm region. The EBRD’s financial package of up to $54.6 million (€50.5 million) will be provided to Sarimay Solar, a special-purpose company fully owned by Voltalia, an international energy producer and service provider based in France. The package will consist of a senior loan of up to $44.8 million (€41.5 million) and a special facility of €9 million, which will support Sarimay Solar during construction. The project will benefit from an unfunded guarantee covering a senior loan tranche of $7 million (€6.5 million) provided by the European Union’s European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus. The financing will help Sarimay Solar construct and operate a 100 MWac (126MWdc) greenfield solar photovoltaic plant, contributing to Uzbekistan’s aim of further decreasing its reliance on carbon-intensive thermal power generation and developing up to 25 GW of solar and wind capacity by 2030. Once operational, the plant is expected to generate up to 252 GWh of electricity yearly and reduce annual CO2 emissions by more than 141,000 tons. For the fourth year in a row, Uzbekistan has been the leading recipient of EBRD funding in Central Asia. The Bank has invested around €4.9 billion in 167 projects across the country, most of which support private entrepreneurship.

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IFC Provides $240 Million Loan to Boost Uzbekistan’s Renewable Energy

The IFC has announced a $240 million Islamic Equity Bridge Loan for ACWA Power to boost Uzbekistan’s renewable energy sector. The announcement was made at the 8th Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The financing will cover a 1-gigawatt solar PV plant, a 668-megawatt Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), and around 500 kilometers of high-voltage transmission lines. These projects aim to advance Uzbekistan’s clean energy goals, potentially cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 1.3 million tons of CO2 annually and generating around 2,400 gigawatt hours of electricity per year. Al Muhaidib, ACWA Power's Chief Financial Officer, stated that “we are honored to collaborate with IFC on this transformative project in Uzbekistan, which embodies our shared vision of advancing sustainable energy solutions. This initiative will establish a new standard for cross-border ACWA Power recourse funding support, effectively addressing energy demands while championing environmental sustainability.” The $240 million financing, structured as an Islamic Finance Murabaha, includes an A-Loan of up to $227.75 million and a $12.25 million trust loan through IFC’s Managed Co-Lending Portfolio Program. This funding will support ACWA Power’s equity contributions to the project’s development over the next four years. By optimizing equity returns, this structure helps project developers offer competitive tariffs and attract private investors, advancing Uzbekistan’s goal of reaching 40% renewable energy by 2030. “This project reflects IFC’s commitment to tackling climate change, accelerating the clean energy transition in emerging markets, and supporting public and private sector entities in Saudi Arabia with innovative investments in the region and beyond,” said Laura Vecvagare, IFC’s Regional Head of Industry for Infrastructure and Natural Resources in the Middle East, Central Asia, Türkiye, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Saudi company ACWA Power’s investment portfolio in Uzbekistan now includes eight projects worth over $6.8 billion, with a more than 5.5 GW design capacity. The company’s success highlights Uzbekistan as an attractive investment hub and a leader in renewable energy in Central Asia.

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Uzbekistan Wants To Produce Drinking Water From the Air

Uzbekistan has tested an innovative unit for extracting moisture from the atmosphere to create drinking water. Sergei Dorzhiev, head of the Russian company Aquagenica which developed the technology, states that it was previously utilized in Russia and African countries, but more difficult climatic conditions were required for the final test of the equipment, which is why the Kyzylkum desert was chosen. The plant, which was launched in the Navoi Free Economic Zone (FEZ) in July, has now completed its tests, and according to FEZ director Habib Abdullayev, the equipment can produce up to 1,000 liters of clean water daily. “The machine works in extreme conditions of hot-dry climate with water content from 4 g/m3 and higher in atmospheric air and in the temperature range from 10-70 degrees Celsius. At the same time, foreign analogs extract water from the air at a humidity of 8-10 g/m3 of air and above in the temperature range of 20-40 degrees Celsius. We expect our installation will help solve problems with access to good quality drinking water,” said Dorzhiev. The unusual installation is expected to begin serial production in 2025. More than 30 African and Asian countries have already expressed interest in producing equipment for extracting water from the air. In various countries, atmospheric moisture extraction technologies are becoming an important solution to freshwater scarcity. One of the most promising approaches is using atmospheric water generators (AWGs), capable of producing potable water from moisture in the air. In the United States, such plants have been successfully used to help provide clean water to communities. Similar technologies have also been implemented in the United Arab Emirates.

200 Million Cubic Meters of Water Directed to the Aral Sea

In 2024, agrarians from the Kyzylorda region of Kazakhstan introduced water-saving technologies on 55,000 hectares of rice fields, saving over 200 million cubic meters of water. These saved resources were directed to the Aral Sea, helping to improve its water levels. During this year's irrigation season, about a billion cubic meters of water were delivered to the Northern Aral, three times more than last year. Since the beginning of the year, the volume of water sent to the sea has reached 2 billion cubic meters, and the total water in the sea has reached 22 billion cubic meters. Kazakhstan's Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Nurzhan Nurzhigitov, emphasized that this result was made possible not only by effective water diplomacy with neighboring Central Asian countries but also by actively using water-saving technologies. To encourage their use, the government has increased subsidies to farmers. In 2024, subsidies rose from 50% to 80%, and in the next three years, will be brought to 85% for small-scale farms using efficient irrigation methods. These measures aim to further restore the Aral Sea's water level, which is one of the region's leading environmental objectives. Successes in water conservation demonstrates that innovative technologies can be crucial for addressing perennial water scarcity and ecosystem restoration. Water diplomacy in Central Asia plays a crucial role in solving the problem of water level reduction in the Aral Sea. Uzbekistan is actively cooperating with Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan on the rational use of water resources in the Amu Darya and Syr Darya river basins. One critical steps was the signing of an agreement on the exchange of electricity between the countries, which has allowed the volume of water used for irrigation to be regulated, and improved the state of the region's ecosystem. In addition, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are actively introducing water-saving technologies to optimize water consumption in agriculture, which is freeing up resources to replenish the Aral Sea. These measures have helped to increase water inflow to the Northern Aral Sea in recent years, maintaining its level and improving conditions for local ecosystems.