INCHEON: On Friday, Asian Development Bank Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov warned that climate change will severely impact the CAREC region. It includes Central Asia, Mongolia, Pakistan, China, and the South Caucasus.
Zhukov called on Central and West Asia and its neighbours to address climate change’s growing impacts. Which could cause water scarcity, food insecurity, and conflict.
The report cites Pakistan’s devastating floods, Afghanistan and China’s punishing droughts, days and weeks of excessive heat. It also mentioned Central Asia’s cross-border conflict over scarce water resources as examples of climate change’s deadly effects in 2022.
“Recent, intense weather events in Central and West Asia show that we need urgent, collective action,” he added.
MOREOVER, Zhukov said that regional countries must cooperate to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As well as increase climate resilience, and manage shared natural resources.
According to the study, higher-than-average temperature rises will increase water scarcity, desertification, and extreme weather like floods and droughts.
It is necessary that irrigation systems and other critical water infrastructure are modernized. Otherwise, Central Asia will have a 37% water supply gap by 2050. This gap could lower agricultural productivity, food insecurity, health outcomes, and resource conflicts.
The study recommends that the CAREC Programme develop a climate change strategy that identifies priority sectors for collaboration, projects with the greatest mitigation and adaptation potential, and a facility to finance those projects.
According to the study, CAREC members’ common position at global climate negotiations like COP will also strengthen the region’s call for climate action.
