Supporting Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) - Launch of the EU SWITCH-Asia Programme in Central Asia
On Friday, 5 July 2019, EU SWITCH-Asia will be launched in Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek, at the Orion Hotel, to introduce the programme in Central Asia, discuss challenges and opportunities related to SCP and define its work plan for Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for the next three years.
The event will be co-organized by the SWITCH-Asia SCP Facility, the European Commission, Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO), and concerned European Union Delegations. Representatives of national governments, EU Delegations, United Nations agencies, and key stakeholders (business, academia, NGOs, MSMEs, among others) will contribute to the interactive discussions on the importance and necessity for promoting SCP patterns in Central Asia, in order to support the five targeted countries’ transition towards a low-carbon, resource-efficient and circular economy.
The launch event is taking place back-to-back with the EU-Central Asia Forum and Ministerial Meeting (6-7 July), where the new EU-Central Asia Strategy will be presented. This Strategy includes a specific point on cooperation in the field of the environment, water and the implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, among others.
The urgent need to change from unsustainable consumption and production patterns to a green economy and sustainable development is increasingly being recognized. This shift requires adequate policies, implementation mechanisms with appropriate enabling capacity, awareness raising and education, together with innovation and responsibility.
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are in the process of developing national strategies for green economy, engaging their local MSMEs and the private sector, while the Government of Uzbekistan has undertaken significant steps in outlining its commitment to energy efficiency and renewable energy and in particular solar power. Similarly, Tajikistan is committed to implementing substantial ecological programmes, while Kazakhstan is increasingly taking energy efficiency measures into account using climate-friendly technologies, and sustainably managing the country’s natural resources. On a similar pattern, Kyrgyzstan has been pursuing an environmentally friendly model of development through initiatives ranging from organic agriculture to energy-efficient lighting and renewable technologies, as well as the creation of a special economic zone for green tech-companies.
Kyrgyzstan is also committed to developing the legal framework that will define the country’s green economy priorities.
The transition to sustainable consumption and production requires political, economic, institutional, behavioural and technological shifts. These are made possible through a combined application of sustainable consumption and production principles, approaches and strategies. Over the next years (2019-2022), the five countries in Central Asia will be benefitting from the support of experts from the SWITCH-Asia Sustainable Consumption and Production Facility (SCP Facility) and from a grant scheme that has been set up to support pilot projects testing new approaches on SCP in the region.
The launch event agenda is available here.
More information about the SWITCH-Asia Programme is available here.
Media Contact :
Sara Gabai,
Communication and Knowledge Expert
SWITCH-Asia SCP Facility
SWITCH-Asia was launched in 2007 with funding from the European Union and for more than a decade, the Programme has been committed to advancing the progress on sustainable consumption and production (SCP) in many countries across Asia and Central Asia, 19 in the first phase and 24 since 2019. This has been possible through the joint efforts of the three SWITCH-Asia components:
The Regional Policy Advocacy Component (RPAC) – implemented by UN Environment.
The Sustainable Consumption and Production Facility – implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) and adelphi.
The SWITCH-Asia Grant Programme – managed by the Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development of the European Commission.