April 29, Tashkent, More and more young people are becoming aware of the need to participate in combating climate change and the global̆ dialogue aimed at finding solutions and actions to this global challenge.

The ideas and voices of youth in the climate negotiation process are critical for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and the fulfillment of countries' commitments under the Paris Agreement, the preamble of which contains the principle of responsibility and justice for present and future generations, which is the cornerstone of combating climate change and keeping the planet resilient.

In her opening speech Ms. Honor Flanagan, FCDO UK Development Director for Central Asia said - “Just ahead of the COP 26 there will be a youth event for climate driving ambitions in Italy. UK is a host event of COP 26 this year and we fully recognize the significance of voice of youth and contribution of youth people for the implementation of the Paris Agreement. Gender equality and women empowerment should be taken as an approach tackling the climate change worldwide. We, at the British Embassy are very glad to see women and girls in this tournament and I hope today all of your especially women and girls and people with disabilities can participate fully at discussions. It is for your future”. 

The youth of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have jointly developed position statements on the actions of the three Central Asian countries to combat climate change. This was made possible thanks to the regional online talks on climate change “On the path to a common youth statement” that took place in the framework of the project «Political Action for Climate Security in Central Asia». This regional project is funded by the UK Foreign Office for Commonwealth and Development (FCDO), and aims to strengthen climate security policy in Central Asia by supporting more proactive and sustained climate action and public awareness.

During the negotiations “On the path to a common youth statement” Climate Statement each of the three national teams have formulated key challenges and effective responses to climate change in three thematic areas: mitigation, climate change adaptation, and food and energy security.

At the plenary session, national teams presented their countries’ priorities and in mixed groups negotiated joint climate statements, in which the region-wide concerns related to climate changed impacts, as well as ensuing common goals, priorities and actions were formulated. 

"We have formulated and are ready to share our vision of measures to combat climate change, which, in our opinion, must be taken at the national and regional levels to prevent climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, taking into account the development needs of our economies and the necessity to achieve common goals, and in my opinion, we have successfully coped with this difficult task, "  - said Omar Dairov, one of the negotiations’ participant from Kyrgyzstan.

In her speech, Anisa Abibulloeva, a participant from Tajikistan, noted, “Adaptation cannot prevent climate change, but it can mitigate socio-economic consequences. Adequate economic potential of the three countries and their unpredictable growth is a determining factor in the vulnerability of countries to climate change. We believe that young people can actively participate in the dialogue to promote and educate the population about preventing, mitigating and adapting to climate change today. "

“The young people, as a generation that might potentially become victims of the irreversible consequences of this global process, are concerned about climate change. We recognize that we not only can, but must contribute to combating this great challenge. We are agents of change, entrepreneurs and innovators. The young people are already reinforcing their efforts and employing  their skills and knowledge to accelerate actions in this area. The young people around the world are already actively combating climate change in order to secure their climate-resilient and safe future, and these actions inspire and motivate us to participate in this work" - stated in her presentation Oydin  Sobirova,  participant from Uzbekistan.

At the end of the regional negotiations, Natalya Agaltseva, Head of Department of Projects Preparation and  Monitoring, Uzhydromet, Uzhydromet, outlined - “After listening to today's speeches of the teams, it was a great pleasure to realize how climate-literate our youth is. Today we have witnessed fruitful negotiations of the three Central Asian countries and this is very important, because the regional vision is important to be heard in international negotiations at the conference".

The moderator of regional climate negitioations Alexei Semenov, Vice-Rector of TEAM University, said that the statements presented by the participants will be presented to the Department of Foreign Affairs, Commonwealth of Nations and Development (FCDO) as the voice of Central Asian youth against climate change.