Dear Forum participants, esteemed colleagues, national partners, and guests,

It is a great pleasure to welcome you to Panel 3: Driving Climate Resilience through Gender-Responsive Policies and Green Innovation, co-hosted by the United Nations Development Programme in the Kyrgyz Republic.

For over three decades, UNDP has stood alongside Kyrgyzstan to support its journey toward inclusive growth, environmental sustainability, and gender equality. Our work in climate action, governance, and sustainable livelihoods is grounded in a deep belief: that resilience and equality must go hand in hand.

Today, we face a rapidly evolving climate crisis—one that affects us all, but not equally. In Kyrgyzstan, where more than 60% of women live in rural areas, climate change threatens not only ecosystems but also livelihoods, health, and social stability. Water scarcity, crop losses, and natural disasters have a disproportionate impact on women and girls, deepening existing vulnerabilities.

But women are not just vulnerable—they are leaders and innovators. And at UNDP, we place gender equality at the heart of climate action.

We are proud to support Kyrgyzstan in integrating gender across its most strategic climate documents. The country’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0) is one of the first in the region to mainstream gender across all pillars—from mitigation to adaptation to climate finance. The NDC includes gender-specific indicators, and prioritizes women’s leadership in decision-making and local climate solutions.

The forthcoming National Adaptation Plan (NAP), developed with UNDP support, follows this same path—ensuring that gender is not an afterthought, but a foundation. It includes concrete measures to empower women in resilient agriculture, water resource management, and disaster risk reduction, especially in vulnerable communities.

But beyond policy, our work also extends to practice. And this includes investing in gender-responsive entrepreneurship, green innovation, and digital inclusion.

Through targeted initiatives such as the Mentorship Programme, E-Commerce Incubation Programme, and the Open Osh Initiative, UNDP has helped 229 women entrepreneurs—over half of all participants—build the skills they need to thrive in the digital and green economy. These women enhanced their digital literacy, financial management, and business planning skills—and many introduced eco-efficient improvements such as modern equipment and water purification systems in the tourism and handicraft sectors.

As a result, 210 new jobs for women were created, and women-led MSMEs became more competitive in creative industries, green production, and e-commerce—demonstrating how inclusive innovation can drive both economic recovery and sustainability.

Yet, as we move forward, we must ensure that our shift to a greener economy is also just. A just transition means more than clean energy—it means protecting vulnerable groups, closing gender gaps, retraining workers, and making sure no one is left behind. UNDP has launched the national conversation on just transition in Kyrgyzstan and supported a readiness assessment, identifying gender and regional disparities that must be addressed as part of systemic transformation.

Finally, we recognize that climate justice is not optional—it is essential. Through initiatives like the Forum of Judges on Environmental Justice, we are helping to build stronger institutions that can safeguard the rights of citizens and protect ecosystems alike.

Today’s panel brings these themes together: climate resilience, gender-responsive policy, and green innovation. Together, these are not parallel tracks—they are one shared path to a fairer, more sustainable future.

Let us use this dialogue to spark new ideas, new partnerships, and renewed momentum for inclusive climate action across the CAREC region.

Thank you—and I wish you a meaningful and forward-looking discussion.