Central Asia is a water-scarce region and therefore is most vulnerable to the impacts of the global climate change process. The main factors contributing to the degradation of the ecosystem in this region are desertification and drought, which are largely caused by the consequences of the inefficient use of the natural resources of arid lands.

On December 22, 2020, an online meeting of the local Appraisal Committee of a new joint project of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the UK Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) was held. The new project will be implemented in partnership with the Center for Hydrometeorological Service (Uzhydromet) of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The new regional initiative “Policy Action for Climate Security in Central Asia” will be implemented in three Central Asian countries - Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan - with the support of the UK Foreign for Commonwealth and Development Office and in collaboration with the British Embassy in Uzbekistan.

The project goal is to enhance policy action for climate security in Central Asia through supporting more robust and coherent climate change action and increasing public awareness.

The project will be implemented in close collaboration with all relevant climate initiatives implemented by UNDP: support to increased ambition of the nationally determined contributions (NDC) to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 that were committed by the country under the Paris Agreement, Forum on Green Recovery of the country's economy during the post-COVID19  pandemic period, and a recently launched project on development of National Adaptation Plan for Uzbekistan supported by the Green Climate Fund.

Key outputs of the project will be enhanced technical, political economy and climate risk sensitivity analysis and scientific data available to national climate change decision makers, and increased public awareness and advocacy for locally appropriate, climate change actions.

The project will provide new opportunities for regional cooperation on climate change issues, which enhance the scale of the outcomes of each participating country. It will also enable a rapid acceleration of efforts in the run-up to COP 26 under UNFCCC, which will be held at the end of 2021 in Glasgow, UK. This will lay the foundation for further joint climate action to cope with climate change relate problems faced by the countries in the Central Asia region.

The enhanced policy action for the regional climate security will reduce conflict, promote energy/food and climate security, stability and resilience to climate change risks in the Central Asia region.