Eugene Zhukov

Climate change-related disasters such as floods, droughts, heat waves, and tropical cyclones are happening more frequently, leading to losses of human life, large-scale displacement, and jeopardized livelihoods. Countries in the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) program region are heavily affected by climate change and need to take joint actions now. For example, in Pakistan, the unprecedented floods in 2022 affected more than 30 million people with nearly 2,000 lives lost.

In the last several years, the countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia – which is comprised of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan – have been experiencing the impacts of various shocks, including the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change-inflicted disasters, and geopolitical conflicts.