Recommendation 9

HM Government · verbatim extract Not Addressed

Partially Agree 43. Central Asia will be one of the regions of the world most affected by climate change and it is already under considerable water stress. We agree that consideration of the potential environmental impact resulting from the construction of the Qosh Tepa canal in northern Afghanistan is a key issue for both Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The UK has offered assistance to the Uzbek Government as they seek to negotiate the equitable use of Amu Darya with the Turkmen Government and the Taliban. This offer was declined, the Uzbek Government being confident in its current trilateral negotiations; the British Embassy in Tashkent remains in close contact with Uzbekistan about the negotiations and we will review our offer as appropriate. 44. Separate from the negotiations over Qosh Tepa, we continue to engage with Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan to understand how they might mitigate impacts from the diversion of water from the Amu Darya, and encourage efforts to resolve the issue diplomatically. Water is a shared resource in Central Asia, and countries in the region must work together to resolve issues and ensure good management of resources. We are developing a Central Asia regional climate change adaptation and mitigation programme, which will include a focus on regional water and energy cooperation (further details below). Conclusion/recommendation 10: The vulnerability of all five Central Asian countries to climate change is real and severe. Without rapid and concerted action, the consequences of food and water insecurity pose threats to regional and global resilience. It is in our mutual interest to shoulder this burden together. However, due to the uncertainties of future water resources in the region and the risks relating to water availability for hydropower, we suggest that the UK Government encourages focus on wind, solar and energy delivery infrastructure. We recommend that the Government prepares a detailed and fully costed action plan within the next year, drawing on the deep preparatory roadmaps and costings already tabled in the World Bank’s Country Climate and Development Reports when available, for how and where it will engage on climate adaption and mitigation in Central Asian countries, including methane reduction in Turkmenistan. This should include facilitating regional cooperation on water use, a package for collaboration on renewable energy, continued support of conservation projects and details of how the UK will use its convening power to ensure Central Asian states are at the front and centre of international dialogue on these issues. Partially Agree 45. We are preparing a new business case for a climate change adaptation and mitigation programme in Central Asia, with a focus on regional cooperation on water and energy, which will complement the UK’s diplomatic engagement and regional convening power. This business case will draw on World Bank Country Climate and Development Reports for Central Asia as well as wider analytical products where these are available. We are also exploring programme and policy options to address methane leakage in Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan - following their announcement at COP28 that they would join the Global Methane Pledge - including through new UK global programmes to address methane emissions in development. We welcome the fact that other development partners, e.g. USAID, are also heavily engaged on these issues. 46. We will continue to work with other Government Departments leading the UK’s international conservation work, such as the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), and explore potential additional support to nature and biodiversity activities in Central Asia. Kazakhstan, in particular, has an important role to play in protecting the Great Steppe ecosystem - one of the largest grasslands in the world, home to unique species and part of the Great Asian Flyway for migratory birds. Conclusion/recommendation 11.