SWITCH-Asia

WHEN:  27 May 2024     I    TIME:  16:00 - 17:00 (Bangkok Time)    I    Platform:  ZOOM Join SWITCH-Asia Session here  I  Meeting ID: 899 4565 1879 Passcode: 368134 

Introduction

The 6th Central Asia Climate Change Conference (CACCC-2024) is poised to be a significant milestone in the ongoing regional climate discourse which has been fortified by the decisions taken at the UNFCCC COP28, especially around the Global Stocktake (GST) of the Paris Agreement. The scientific conclusions suggested by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) 6th Assessment Report[1], the Global Emissions Gap Report 2023 of UNEP[2] and the outcomes of the GST process[3] are unified in the conclusion that the world is not on the correct track of tackling the climate change challenges. It is recommended that the countries and collectively the world must capitalize on all the opportunities available to contribute towards climate actions. Apart from the general large sectors of renewable energy and transport, the other areas of climate actions should also be considered in framing the climate actions. The Global Resource Outlook of 2024[4] released by the International Resources Panel (IRP) highlights the importance of stabilizing sustainable consumption and production (SCP) pathways will have multiple benefits including reduced environmental impacts for virgin resources, reducing the emissions and biodiversity loss while positively contributing to economic growth. It highlights SCP and circular economy as an obvious candidate to bolster climate actions in all the countries irrespective of their level of economic development and the country size.

On the other hand, the Central Asian countries have ambitiously put forwards their intensions and plans for green economy transformation, recognizing it as a national priority. All the Central Asian countries, as parties to the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement, are now moving towards enhancing their NDCs ahead of the UNFCCC COP20 in 2025. The NDCs are the building of Paris Agreement which provides the option of setting up climate change targets in a bottom-up approach in which the national priorities can be highlighted. It is indeed This is an opportunity for the Central Asian countries to enhance the climate actions with renewed climate targets under the new NDCs while integrating the aspects such as SCP, circular economy, and green economy. The proposed session at the CACCC 2024 on Climate Change and Circular Economy Nexus; Approaches for Central Asia is aiming at creating a discussion and explore the approaches, challenges, and opportunities of pursuing on circular economy and SCP aspects within climate actions.

Objectives of the Session

The session will aim at achieving the following objectives.

• To explore the global experiences of SCP, circular economy and climate change nexus.
• To explore the policy, technology and capacity status of circular economy, SCP and climate change integration in the Central Asian countries
• To create a discussion and identify the elements for a road map of integrating climate change, circular economy and sustainable consumption and production linkages.

The session will comprise of a keynote presentation of the global experiences followed by a technical session. The technical session will have four technical presentations covering various aspects of climate change and circular economy. The technical session will be followed by a facilitated panel discussion with the engagement of the participants too.

Agenda