UZBEKISTAN'S GREEN ECONOMY TRANSITION STRATEGY 2019–2030: INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK, SECTORAL PRIORITIES, AND EXPECTED OUTCOMES
Keywords:
green economy, low-carbon transition, renewable energy, energy efficiency, climate policy, Uzbekistan, Paris Agreement.Abstract
This study examines Uzbekistan's Green Economy Transition Strategy for 2019–2030, adopted by Presidential Resolution No. PQ-4477 of 4 October 2019. The research analyses the Strategy's institutional architecture, four sectoral priority directions, financial mechanisms, and quantitative targets, evaluating their alignment with the country's Paris Agreement commitments ratified in 2018. The study applies qualitative policy document analysis combined with comparative benchmarking against analogous transition strategies in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Georgia. Institutional responsibilities are coded across eleven ministries and agencies, and policy instruments are classified as regulatory, fiscal, financial, informational, or capacity-building. Key findings show that by 2030 Uzbekistan aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity per unit of GDP by 35% relative to 2010, raise renewable energy capacity to 15 GW (over 30% of electricity output), improve industrial energy efficiency by 20%, and introduce water-saving irrigation on one million hectares. The article identifies enabling conditions and institutional gaps that will determine implementation success, concluding that the Strategy provides a comprehensive low-carbon roadmap whose delivery depends on consistent interagency coordination, sustained international financing, and integration of green principles into national education and innovation systems.
References
1. Bobojonov, I., & Aw-Hassan, A. (2014). Impacts of climate change on farm income security in Central Asia: An integrated modelling approach. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 188, 245–255.
2. Clapp, C., & Meckling, J. (2013). Government support for low-carbon technology and green industry. OECD Environment Working Papers, 38, OECD Publishing.
3. Dukhovny, V. A., & de Schutter, J. L. G. (2011). Water in Central Asia: Past, present, future. CRC Press.
4. Fankhauser, S., & Jotzo, F. (2018). Economic growth and development with low-carbon energy. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 9(1), e495.
5. Government of Uzbekistan. (2019). Presidential Resolution No. PQ-4477 on the Green Economy Transition Strategy of the Republic of Uzbekistan for 2019–2030 (4 October 2019). Official Gazette of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
6. International Energy Agency (IEA). (2020). Uzbekistan energy profile. IEA.
7. International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). (2019). Renewable energy auctions: A guide to design. IRENA.
8. International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). (2022). Uzbekistan: Renewable energy prospects. IRENA.
9. Jacobs, M. (2012). Green growth: Economic theory and political discourse. Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment Working Paper 92.
10. Lioubimtseva, E., & Henebry, G. M. (2009). Climate and environmental change in arid Central Asia. Journal of Arid Environments, 73(11), 963–977.
11. Mazzucato, M., & Semieniuk, G. (2017). Public financing of innovation: New questions. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 33(1), 24–48.
