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Climate
Change and Energy
News:
Weekly Digest by CAN
EECCA
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Dear
subscribers,
Green projects are picking up
across the region — but will that be enough to
stop the losses? Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, and
Uzbekistan are betting on clean energy: building
solar plants, retrofitting public buildings, and
launching new environmental centers. Meanwhile,
others are already facing the impacts of climate
change: the Caspian Sea is shrinking,
Tajikistan’s glaciers are melting, chlorine
leaks are reported in Kazakhstan, and wildfires
are raging across 2 million hectares in Russia.
Kyrgyzstan joins the global net-zero commitment,
while Belarus turns to nature-based solutions to
fight fires. At the global level, tropical
forests are disappearing — and the race for
control over the Arctic is heating up.New
opportunities for activists — at the end of the
issue.
We’re always open to
hearing your thoughts, ideas, or stories — don’t
hesitate to get in touch.
Sincerely,
The
CAN EECCA Team
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News
from the EECCA Region
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“Georgia, with its
significant potential for renewable energy
production, is actively working to align its
national energy policy with European Union
legislation and standards. In particular, the
National Energy and Climate Integrated Plan,
adopted by Parliament in 2024, outlines
comprehensive measures through 2030, including
the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the
accelerated adoption of renewable energy, and
seamless integration of energy systems,” she
emphasized.
According to Boston
Consulting Group (BCG), Ukraine’s renewable
energy sector is expected to double by 2040: the
share of renewables in the national energy mix
will grow from 15% (2022 level) to 28% and
continue rising, making Ukraine’s power grid
significantly “greener” than in many EU
countries. This was stated by BCG Senior Expert
Balit Silhavi at the “We Build Ukraine”
conference.
Uzbekistan will
establish a Central Asian Environmental Research
Center at Green University in collaboration with
China. The center will serve as a platform for
joint scientific research, professional
training, and technology exchange. A memorandum
was signed by representatives of the Ministry of
Ecology and the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology
and Geography at the Chinese Academy of
Sciences.
When humans eliminate
large predators and herbivores or drastically
reduce their numbers, it triggers a domino
effect in ecosystems that leads to environmental
degradation. To reverse this, people are turning
to rewilding — a conservation approach aimed at
restoring natural food chains and ecological
processes disrupted by human
activity.
Home to over 13,000
glaciers, Tajikistan plays a crucial role in
preserving Central Asia’s water resources. More
than 60% of the region’s water originates in the
country, making glacier protection not only a
national issue but a regional one. In the
context of global climate change, Tajikistan has
become a key initiator and participant in
numerous programs aimed at conserving these
vital natural assets.
Over the past 20 years,
the Caspian Sea’s water level has dropped by
nearly three meters, and the coastline has
receded by 15–20 kilometers — a worrying trend
with serious implications for the region’s
economic stability. On May 22, Azerbaijan's
presidential representative on climate issues,
Mukhtar Babayev, emphasized during the session
“The Caspian: Cooperation for the Future” at the
XI Nevsky International Environmental Congress
that solving this problem is only possible
through collective regional
efforts.
Kyrgyzstan has
officially joined the Global Commitment to Zero
Waste. The document was signed on behalf of the
country by Minister of Labor, Social Security
and Migration Ravshanbek Sabirov. Although the
commitment is declarative and not legally
binding, it grants access to a wide range of
international opportunities — from technology
and knowledge exchange to participation in
global projects and attracting
investment.
One year before hosting
the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to
the UN Convention on Biological Diversity,
Armenia offers six key lessons to the world.
Known for its ancient monasteries and growing
agritourism, this small South Caucasus nation is
now gaining attention for its biodiversity
conservation efforts. In 2026, Armenia will host
COP17, marking a major step in its environmental
leadership.
Residents continue to
report chemical odors, coughing, and breathing
issues following a chlorine incident at the
Ust-Kamenogorsk Titanium Magnesium Plant.
Visibility dropped to less than 20 meters during
the night due to a dense fog-like cloud. The
regional communication service explained that
the issue arose during unplanned cleaning of the
chlorination system, which caused internal
coating to dislodge and temporarily blocked the
gas duct.
Moldova’s Parliament
ratified a credit agreement with the French
Development Agency to implement the INSPIREE
project. Thirty public buildings, including
universities and hospitals, will be modernized
for greater energy efficiency. Planned
improvements include insulation, upgraded
heating and ventilation systems, and equipment
replacement. The project aims to reduce energy
consumption by up to 60%, save 12.3 GWh
annually, and cut CO₂ emissions by 4,200 tons
per year — the equivalent of taking 12,600 cars
off the road.
Russia:
Wildfires spread across 2 million hectares — 2.5
times more than last
year
According to the
Ministry of Emergency Situations, around 2,500
forest fire outbreaks have been recorded since
the beginning of the year. The total burned area
now exceeds 2 million hectares, 2.5 times higher
than the same period in 2024. Siberia is
currently the epicenter of the
disaster.
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World
Climate and Energy News
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A
Republican push to dismantle clean energy
incentives threatens to reverberate across the
US by costing more than 830,000 jobs, raising
energy bills for US households and threatening
to unleash millions more tonnes of the
planet-heating pollution that is causing the
climate
crisis,
experts have warned.
A
major tax bill passed by the Republican-held House of
Representatives on Thursday morning will, as
currently written, demolish key components of
climate legislation signed by Joe Biden that has
spurred a record torrent of
renewable energy and electric vehicle investment
in the US.
The
world's tropical forests, which provide a
crucial buffer against climate change,
disappeared faster than ever recorded last year,
new satellite analysis suggests. Researchers estimate
that 67,000 sq km (26,000 sq mi) of these
pristine, old-growth forests were lost in 2024 –
an area nearly as large as the Republic of
Ireland, or 18 football pitches a minute. Fires
were the main cause, overtaking land clearances
from agriculture for the first time on record,
with the Amazon faring particularly badly amid
record drought.
As
soon as Magnus Mæland became mayor of a small
town on Norway's northern tip in late 2023,
three delegations from China came knocking on
his door. "It's because they want to be a polar
superpower," he says. China might not
instinctively spring to mind when you think
about the Arctic - but it's determined to be a
big Arctic player. It's been vying to buy real
estate, get involved in infrastructure projects
and hopes to establish a permanent regional
presence. China already describes itself as a
"near-Arctic state", even though its
northernmost regional capital Harbin is on
roughly the same latitude as Venice, Italy. But
the Arctic is fast becoming one of the most
hotly-contested parts of the world. Beijing
faces stiff competition from Russia, Europe,
India and the US. The race for the Arctic is
on.
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Forbes has announced
the launch of its second annual Forbes
Sustainability Leaders 2025 award, which will
recognize 50 outstanding individuals making a
significant impact on sustainability and the
fight against the climate crisis.
Who can be
nominated?
Leaders from business,
science, government, and civil society
who:
- Implement innovative
sustainable initiatives
- Influence
sustainability-related policy
- Inspire communities
toward environmental change
Business leaders:
companies must have over $10M in revenue or more
than $100M in funding
Deadline: June 13,
2025
The Initiative for
Climate Action Transparency (ICAT), supported by
UNOPS, has opened a call for proposals for
technical support grants to enhance climate
action transparency in developing
countries.
Funding available: up
to $110,000 per country module
Project duration: 12 to
18 months
Eligible support areas
include:
- Developing monitoring,
reporting, and verification (MRV) systems
- Emission and
sustainable development assessments
- Transparency in climate
finance
- Monitoring of just
transition
- Support for updating
and implementing Nationally Determined
Contributions (NDCs)
Who
can apply:
NGOs, civil society
organizations, foundations, research and
academic institutions, intergovernmental
organizations, and private entities operating on
a non-profit basis
Deadline: May 30,
2025
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