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On
April 16, Tbilisi hosted Georgia’s first-ever
Youth Climate Forum, dedicated to shaping the
country’s new climate commitment — NDC 3.0. This
event marked a significant milestone as, for the
first time, Georgian youth were directly
involved in public consultations on the
Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) under
the Paris Agreement. The updated NDC 3.0 is
expected to be submitted to the UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in the
coming weeks.
More than 50 young
activists participated in the Forum, including
Georgia’s Youth Climate
Ambassadors.
Aliyev:
Azerbaijan and China Strengthen Alliance Despite
"Western Pressure"
Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev announced that
cooperation between Azerbaijan and China is
actively expanding in trade, climate
initiatives, and shared multilateral goals,
despite pressure from certain Western countries.
In an interview with China's Xinhua news agency,
Aliyev emphasized that relations between Baku
and Beijing have "entered a historic phase"
following the signing of the Joint Declaration
on Strategic Partnership with Chinese President
Xi Jinping in July 2024.
During recent meetings,
more than 15 investment projects were
discussed across sectors such as heavy
industry, mining, agriculture, light industry,
green energy, and others.
How can communities
provide their own energy? How would this
contribute to the country’s energy security? And
why has this approach already proven successful
in the EU countries? These questions were
discussed during an event organised by
Ecoaction, which served as a platform for
addressing current challenges to energy
resilience and exploring opportunities for
Ukrainian communities.
The World Bank’s
Inspection Panel has accepted a complaint from
residents of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan
regarding the ongoing construction of the Rogun
Hydropower Plant (HPP). The main concern is that
the current Environmental and Social Impact
Assessment (ESIA) is incomplete, based on
outdated data and concepts from a decade ago,
and fails to adequately address the project's
key risks. The documentation does not fully
consider the interests of downstream
communities, particularly those in the
ecologically distressed Aral Sea region. The
reduction and seasonal redistribution of the
Vakhsh River’s flow during construction,
reservoir filling (expected to take at least 15
years), and operation of the Rogun HPP will
inevitably lead to water shortages in the lower
reaches of the Vakhsh and Amu Darya
rivers.
The Ministry of
Environment of Armenia and the UN World Food
Programme (WFP) have signed a Memorandum of
Understanding aimed at jointly promoting
biodiversity conservation within communities and
fostering sustainable ecosystems. The memorandum
was signed by Aram Meimaryan, Deputy Minister of
Environment of Armenia, and Nanna Skau,
Representative and Director of the WFP Office in
Armenia.
The ecological state of
the Caspian Sea became a topic of open
discussion in Kazakhstan's Mazhilis
(Parliament). Vadim Ni, founder of the Save the
Caspian Sea movement, delivered a speech
announcing that he has filed a lawsuit against
the Ministry of Energy. He is demanding the
disclosure of oil agreement terms that impact
the marine environment.
A
village with zero energy bills is not a utopia
but a reality in Moldova. Thanks to the active
development of renewable energy sources in the
village of Feștelița, the local kindergarten,
school, and most residents now have zero energy
costs.
The full-scale Russian
invasion of Ukraine became a significant
catalyst for Moldova's transition to renewables.
In 2022, both Ukraine and neighboring Moldova
faced an energy security crisis, with soaring
prices for natural gas and electricity. At that
time, heavily dependent on energy imports from
Russia and Ukraine, Moldova sharply increased
its investments in renewable energy
projects.
In
Uzbekistan's Jizzakh region, construction has
commenced on the initial production facilities
for a small modular nuclear power plant (SMR)
project, utilizing Russian RITM-200N reactors.
The RITM-200 is a pressurized water reactor
previously deployed on nuclear icebreakers and
considered proven technology for maritime use.
However, a land-based plant with these reactors
(RITM-200N, where "N" stands for "nazemny,"
meaning land-based) has yet to be built, making
it not fully classified as a reference project.
A similar initiative began in Yakutia in 2024.
Notably, this technology has so far only been
applied in colder regions.
The US State Department
has canceled 139 grants for foreign projects
totaling $214 million. Secretary of State Marco
Rubio approved the decision, which will take
effect from April 15. The US will cease funding
initiatives promoting "civic engagement" in
Uzbekistan, "newsroom resilience" in Moldova,
"countering disinformation" in Belarus,
"environmental sustainability" in Armenia, and
"civil society resilience and adaptation" in
Kyrgyzstan, among others.
Kyrgyzstan has launched
a large-scale environmental initiative, RESILAND
CA+, aimed at protecting nature and preventing
natural disasters. Funded by the World Bank, the
project focuses on mitigating mudflows,
restoring degraded lands, and strengthening
cooperation with neighboring countries in
sustainable landscape management
New regulations adopted
by the Moscow City Hall at the end of last year,
allowing uncontrolled construction and so-called
"improvement" of city parks, have sparked a new
wave of protests. Environmental activists,
despite facing severe repression since the start
of the war, continue to resist government
arbitrariness not only in Moscow but across the
country. Large-scale campaigns—blocking roads,
staging pickets, electing deputies to local
parliaments, and halting construction
projects—are no longer possible, as
eco-activists are often persecuted as harshly as
anti-war protesters. However, they persist in
using other available methods and, surprisingly,
often achieve success.
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