Excellency Mr. Arzybek Kozhoshev, First Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers,

Excellency Daniiar Amangeldiev, Minister of Economy and Commerce of KR

Mr. Zhoodar Osmonov, Chairman of the Board of JIA Business Association

Excellency Mdm Gabriela Guellil, Ambassador of Germany to the Kyrgyz Republic

Mr. Alexei Rogov, Head of the OSCE Programme Office

Distinguished government officials, development partners, civil society organizations, media and guests of today’s Forum

Good morning to you all. Cаламатсыздарбы! (Salamatsyzdarby)

It is my pleasure to welcome you to this Green Economy Forum focused on opportunities for Sustainable Business! Today I speak not only on behalf of UNDP but of the five UN agencies that make up the Partnership for Action on a Green Economy.

I congratulate the Government and Cabinet of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Ministry of Economy and Commerce for its true leadership in bringing together all key stakeholders to cooperate on the Green Economy initiatives in the Kyrgyz Republic. We are very glad to see a growing partnership with the private sector in the country, because, as you know, business is the mainstay of the economy, and by creating fair conditions for business, the economy of Kyrgyzstan can and will grow.

I congratulate the organisers on this impactful forum and particularly acknowledge our colleagues from GIZ and Germany for continuing support and cooperation on Green Economy and on this Forum.

As we meet today, the world has just come out of the Glasgow meeting on Climate change, which for the first time acknowledged that the world’s reliance on fossil fuels for production and consumption is a threat to the survival of our planet and indeed of the human species. We now know with full certainty based on science and evidence that the extraction and burning of coal for energy production is the overwhelmingly biggest cause of greenhouse gas emissions. Sadly, fossil fuels are also a source of substantial human health risk, with pollution resulting in respiratory and other illness, sometimes leading to death. In addition to the global impact, direct exposure to pollution causes great damage to the development of the lungs and cognitive ability in young children.

Against this backdrop, we commend the Kyrgyz Republic on its strategic and ambitious decision to reduce GHG emissions by 16.63% of GHG emission levels by 2025 with unconditional measures, and a further 16% by 2030, with a view to reach net zero by 2050. This was communicated in the updated so-called Nationally Determined Contributions submitted by the Government of Kyrgyzstan to the UN Framework Convention in October, and affirmed in the President’s statement to the Conference of Parties. In fact, the Kyrgyz Republic was the only country from the Central Asia region to present its NDC commitments at the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow in November 2021.

Realising these targets, and going beyond as also suggested in the conditional measures that invites additional financing from development partners, is going to require structural transformation of the economy. The government cannot do this alone. And so who is going to do this? Well I am looking at all of you!

The goals of turning the growth – because it is about the growth in the economy where this is going to unfold – Kyrgyzstan’s low carbon economy will have to be built by the private sector. No doubt the government has to do its part, in terms of building national consensus for things like electricity tariff reform, an in developing an incentive structures for growth in renewable energy. As development partners, we are going to help with technical assistance in getting this right. And our development banks I hope will offer financing to stimulate a transition in production structure, new types of machinery and upgrading or transforming the old one.

But the government and the country rely on you, the businesses, to invest, to innovate, to research, to learn and to co-create.

 I feel today we have moved to a state where we discuss more on the ‘how’. There are substantial opportunities for advancing mitigation goals in the energy sector by  the deployment of renewable energy sources to boost Kyrgyzstan’s domestic energy production and help to alleviate the energy crisis. This can be done in tandem with planning long-term investment in alternative, non-polluting and, environmentally-friendly heating technologies that address the air quality and its health impacts as well as energy efficiency in key economic sectors.

Right now there is significant focus on hydropower, and we know it has potential. But, it is not all, and it will not in its own suffice for secure energy supply and environmental sustainability over time.

Kyrgyzstan also intends to increase its ambitions in mitigation through implementation of Renewable Energy sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, and biogas as well. Other important plans include investment in e-mobility, energy efficiency and gasification.

Now, Glasgow was not the only important global meeting this year. On 24 September 2021, more than 130 global leaders, including Heads of State and Government, Heads of UN entities and international organizations, and business representatives joined the UN High-level Dialogue on Energy (HLDE), discussing ambitious targets, transformational actions and bold investments towards achieving universal energy access and net-zero emissions. This was important to boost efforts for universal energy access by 2030 to the nearly 760 million people who live without electricity while setting the world on a trajectory towards fossil fuel phaseout.

The meeting acknowledged that far more is needed to address energy poverty and the decarbonization of energy systems – of course – because without deep energy decarbonization, the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement cannot be reached. A key outcomes of this Dialogue was the first global roadmap for accelerating the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) – affordable, sustainable, reliable and modern energy for all.

In support of these objectives, more than USD 400 billion in new finance and investment was committed by governments and the private sector in the form of Energy Compacts. These commitments will provide hundreds of millions of people with clean energy access and speed up energy transition while creating green jobs. And this, ladies and gentlemen, will help us create growth and include more people in the formal economy.

So, just to reiterate why I am I making such emphasis on energy this morning. Well, as you know, Kyrgyzstan is dependent on coal, gas and oil for its energy supply. It will take time to change, but it is necessary to change. Fossil fuels – if not yet obsolete – are becoming out of fashion, while the incentive structure is falling in place for making the transition.

Meanwhile, the cost of renewable energy technologies have dropped at an unbelievable rate in global markets. We now need to work together and “domesticate” this picture, such that renewable energy becomes affordable and attractive investment in Kyrgyzstan. This is what theme of today’s forum – turning challenges into opportunities for growth of sustainable business – means to me.

The bottom line is: Once we have the right incentive structure in place, such that the price of energy exceeds production cost, we will have investment in this sector. And this will in turn generate the investment in knowledge, engineering, research and innovation capacities which will create a range of new jobs and transform this society in a very positive direction.

I very much encourage all partners to join efforts to deepen collaboration and support decarbonization of the energy system in the Kyrgyz Republic. We need to look at alternative energy opportunities across sectors.

In conclusion, I look forward to our work ahead as UNDP and together with the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic and other partners to help Kyrgyzstan adopt inclusive green economy policies and practices with focus on sustainable energy to make our lives healthier, of better quality and friendlier to environment.

Let me end by congratulating all of you on International Human Rights Day! I wish all participants good health, happiness and prosperity in the coming year, and I look forward to a productive forum. Thank you. Chong Rahmat!