Efforts to save melting glaciers to get boost from Tajik-UAE water, energy cooperation

Although Tajikistan contributes a miniscule 0.03 percent to global gas emissions, the water-rich country has lost thousands of glaciers due to global warming and ended up among the top five climate vulnerable countries. The Central Asian nation is developing sustainable water and energy solutions as part of the efforts to save its glaciers, and the UAE’s cooperation is pivotal in the initiatives, a top official told the Emirates News Agency (WAM).

“Tajikistan is home to 60 percent of water resources for Central Asia and Afghanistan with a population of over 100 million people, and we are also among the top five countries vulnerable to climate change. We have been losing thousands of our glaciers in recent years. We have to save glaciers as most of our water sources are coming from them,” said Daler Juma, Minister of Energy and Water Resources Republic of Tajikistan.

Tajikistan is taking several global initiatives in water sector and the UAE can share its experience in this regard as a partner, he said. “We’re going to host an international conference early June in our country,” Juma said, referring to the Second International High-Level Conference on the International Decade for Action titled ‘Water for Sustainable Development, 2018-2028’ on the topic ‘Catalysing water action and partnership at the local, national, regional and global levels’, which will take place from 6th to 9th June in Dushanbe.

The minister, who visited Abu Dhabi to attend World Utilities Congress last week, pointed out that Tajikistan’s contribution to global emission is very low, as 95 percent of its electricity is produced from low-carbon hydropower. The Government of Tajikistan has also committed to develop over 700 megawatts of renewable energy by 2030. “As the UAE is very aggressively and actively investing in solar energy, we have identified the areas that we can work together by bringing the UAE investment in development of the solar power plants,” the Minister explained.

Still, the former Soviet republic continues to develop oil and gas fields to address supply and demand service increase in summer and shortfall in winter, Juma said. “We have sought the UAE’s cooperation in oil and gas sector.”

“Tajikistan will work together with the UAE’s public and private sector to improve energy efficiencies as well. Those are the areas that we have identified for bilateral cooperation and I’m quite positive about it,” the Minister added.

As the Regional CEO for IPS ASIA’s Energy Portfolio, Minister Juma has been leading the overall mission and strategy to bring clean, reliable and affordable electricity to some of the world’s most remote and mountainous regions in eastern Tajikistan, northeastern Afghanistan and northern Pakistan.