The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Uzbekistan on 27 March hosted the Closure Workshop of the joint project “Promoting Innovative Decarbonization Solutions through the Joint Crediting Mechanism and Demonstration of Decarbonization Potential of Public Buildings and Public Transport in Uzbekistan.” The initiative, financed by the Government of Japan, has supported national efforts to pilot decarbonization solutions, strengthen evidence-based climate policy, and advance Uzbekistan’s transition toward a more sustainable future.
The event brought together project implementers and beneficiaries—including the mayor of the Syrdarya region and representatives of local schools and pre-school institutions—to review results and lessons learned, with a particular focus on energy-efficiency pilots.
Five pilot initiatives are underway in the Mirabad District of Tashkent city and in rural communities of the Syrdarya region, where the project has installed eight propane‑based heat pumps and thirty‑eight air conditioners in public facilities such as a school, kindergartens, and a polyclinic. These upgrades replace outdated electric and coal‑based systems, cutting coal use by 115 tons and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 482,3 tons per year.
The heat pumps, based on advanced Japanese technologies, deliver three to four times more heat per unit of electricity, lowering energy costs and improving comfort for more than 13,500 users, with children placed at the heart of this initiative. Complementing these efforts, the project has also introduced enhanced air-quality monitoring through a dedicated station on Shota Rustaveli Street in Tashkent that tracks air contamination levels and brings benefit to over 120,000 residents of the area.
Another focus of the workshop was to introduce and validate Uzbekistan’s newly developed National Methodology for Fossil Fuel Subsidy Inventory, designed in line with international practices and piloted across selected energy carriers. Experts from the Center for Economic Research and Reforms (CERR) outlined the methodology’s conceptual framework, data architecture, and monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) considerations, underscoring its importance for integrating subsidy data into national statistical and climate reporting systems.
Event participants also examined the results of a pioneering socio-economic and sectoral vulnerability assessment related to potential fossil fuel subsidy reforms. The analysis identified sensitive sectors and population groups, provided insights into risk exposure, and offered policy recommendations to ensure subsidy reform aligns with Uzbekistan’s climate commitments and the Long-Term Low-Emission Development Strategy.
The workshop concluded with a practical dialogue focused on strengthening the project’s impact. Implementers and beneficiaries agreed on the need to scale up results in areas where clear benefits have already been demonstrated—such as upgraded, more energy-efficient heating and cooling systems that reduce emissions in pilot areas of the Syrdarya region, alongside expanded air-quality and greenhouse-gas monitoring networks in Tashkent.
