Turkmenistan has significant potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change, but it requires substantial investment.
The United Nations Development Programme has published a policy brief on climate financing in Turkmenistan, exploring global trends and opportunities for international cooperation. The report highlights the growing global market for green and climate finance and assesses Turkmenistan’s vulnerability to climate change and its potential to attract climate finance.
According to the report, the total economic damage from greenhouse gas emissions in Turkmenistan was estimated to be $3.40 billion in 2021. To mitigate this, Turkmenistan has been working to reduce its energy intensity, which decreased from 30.44 MJ/USD in 2000 to 10.18 MJ/USD in 2021.
However, the country still has a high carbon intensity of GDP, which was 1.315 kg CO2/USD in 2014, 1.7 times higher than the global average. To address this, Turkmenistan needs to attract significant investments in climate-friendly projects.
The country has access to 45 foreign climate financing options, including grants and loans from international organizations which can support projects such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, and climate adaptation. The total amount of resources mobilized for climate projects by global and regional funds and programs available to Turkmenistan exceeds $50 billion.
However, the report notes that current investments in key sectors are insufficient to meet Turkmenistan’s climate goals. To address this, the report recommends developing new financing tools and enhancing the national financial system to attract more resources and improve investment efficiency.
The report lacks information on public consultation, corruption, and transparency-enhancing mechanisms related to climate finance. Additionally, the report does not specify which national institutions are responsible for reporting on climate-related financial activities.
Some key statistics from the report:
- Investments in environmental protection and rational use of natural resources in Turkmenistan in 2022 amounted to 0.88 billion manats. Of these, 0.84 billion manats were invested in the field of water resources use, 0.0001 billion manats were invested in air protection, 0.0174 billion manats were invested in forest resources, 0.0238 billion manats were invested in land resources, 0.0013 billion manats were allocated for the organization of nature reserves and other protected areas in Turkmenistan.
- Investments in the agricultural sector in 2022 amounted to 609.1 million manats.
- As of 2023, the total area of irrigated land in Turkmenistan reached 1822.3 thousand hectares.
- The total area of green spaces in Turkmenistan reached 30.6 thousand hectares in 2022.
- The ratio of the area occupied by green spaces to the total area of urban land is 16.1%.
Total amount of resources attracted to climate projects through international technical assistance channels between 2013 and 2023 in Turkmenistan was $524.3 million.
- $499.2 million was directed to projects in the energy sector from external sources between 2010 and 2023.
- $22.1 million was directed to environmental protection.
- $1.8 million was directed to disaster risk reduction.
- $0.4 million went to agriculture, forestry, and fisheries.
- About 7% of the financial resources attracted to Turkmenistan were grants.
Sources of funding:
- The Asian Development Bank provided $464.8 million to implement climate projects in Turkmenistan.
- The United Nations Development Programme provided $32.2 million.
- Structures of the UAE (Abu Dhabi Fund for Development) provided $22.0 million.
Receivers:
- The Ministry of Energy of Turkmenistan received $464.8 million.
- The Ministry of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan received $18.7 million.
- The Government of Turkmenistan received $17.0 million.
- The State Committee for Water Resources of Turkmenistan received $12.0 million.
Total amount of resources attracted to climate projects through international technical assistance channels between 2011 and 2021 in the neighboring countries:
- The total in Uzbekistan was $3.3 billion.
- The total in Tajikistan was $0.73 billion.
- The total in Kazakhstan was $0.16 billion.
- For Kyrgyzstan, this figure was estimated at $8.6/person/year from 2011 to 2021.
- For Uzbekistan, this figure was estimated at $8.2/person/year.
- For Tajikistan, this figure was estimated at $6.7/person/year.
- For Kazakhstan, this figure was estimated at $0.7/person/year.
