In his address, Armen Martirosyan, the acting Permanent Representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Belarus, shifted the focus from past achievements in mitigating the climate crisis to the tasks that lie ahead. He stressed the need for more synchronized efforts among all partners to enhance the effectiveness of the measures taken.

Looking ahead to 2025, the Belarusian government is entering a new phase of planning. All national strategies will be reviewed, and new action plans will be developed. The head of UNDP Belarus proposed discussing how climate change issues could be jointly integrated into each of the government strategies and programs.

UNDP expressed its commitment to support these efforts by providing resources, knowledge, and both international and local expertise to embed climate issues into development programs.

In Belarus, the climate agenda is centered on mitigating and adapting to climate change. By early 2024, the country had reduced CO₂ emissions by 40% from 1990 levels. This reduction was achieved through:

• Improvements in energy efficiency within industry, housing, and utilities.
• Advancement of green transport and urban mobility.
• Application of new green technologies in agriculture.
• Increased use of renewable energy sources.
• Rehabilitation of peatlands and expansion of forest areas.

UNDP provided significant support for the implementation of activities in many of these areas.

The round table saw the participation of representatives from various national ministries, business circles, institutes of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Belarus, non-governmental organizations, educational institutions, the diplomatic corps, and UN agencies in Belarus.