Tajikistan President highlights adverse impacts of climate change and conflict at Global South Summit

Dushanbe, Aug 18 (IANS) Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon highlighted the adverse effects of climate change, food shortages, population growth, financial debt, inequality and conflict in his address at the 3rd Voice of Global South Summit hosted virtually under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Saturday.

In his speech, Tajikistan’s Head of State thanked India for hosting the “important event” – a unique initiative backed by PM Modi’s vision of bringing together countries of the Global South – calling it as a favourable basis for a constructive discussion of various aspects of the process of sustainable development and other pressing issues of the modern world.

Rahmon said that the planet has witnessed the hottest years and months over the past five years and cited a report of experts which mentioned that July 2024 was recorded as the hottest month in the history of observations.

“This process suggests that we will likely see more record-breaking temperatures in the next few years. The Republic of Tajikistan, with 93 per cent of its territory covered by mountains, is considered one of the most vulnerable countries in the South in terms of the effects of climate change. Every year, our country faces floods, landslides, avalanches and other natural disasters, which cause a lot of property damage and in many cases, loss of life,” the Tajikistan President said.

Taking this into account, he mentioned, the Government of Tajikistan is implementing the National Strategy of Adaptation to Climate Change until 2030 in order to reduce the negative impact of climate change on the country’s social and economic spheres.

Rahmon told the gathering of leaders from countries of the Global South that Tajikistan produces 98 per cent of its electricity from hydropower or renewable sources and occupies the sixth place in the world in terms of the percentage of ‘green energy’ production.

“We have decided to increase this indicator to one hundred per cent by 2032, that is, to produce electricity entirely from ‘green energy’ resources, and to turn Tajikistan into a ‘green country’ by 2037,” he said.

He then went on to spotlight another “threatening trend” – the rapid melting of glaciers and the reduction of water resources.

“It is worth mentioning that over the last few decades, more than 1,000 of the 13,000 glaciers of our country have completely melted. This is despite the fact that the glaciers of Tajikistan are the main source of formation of up to 60 per cent of the water resources of the Central Asian region. It is for this reason that Tajikistan’s initiative to declare 2025 as the ‘International Year of Glacier Protection’ received full support,” commented Rahmon.

In his speech, the Tajik President also made it clear that the sustainable development of the future is directly related to the maintenance of peace and stability in the world.

“Unfortunately, various regions of the modern world have been engulfed by a wave of dangerous unrest and armed conflicts, and geopolitical tension has reached an unprecedented high level. This situation, along with other security risks and threats, seriously destabilizes the political stability and the economic and social situation of the countries, and can have many long-term negative consequences,” he stated.

Leaders and representatives of more than 100 countries participated in the conference held under the theme ‘An Empowered Global South for a Sustainable Future’.

It began as an extension of PM Modi’s vision of ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas aur sabka prayas’, and is underpinned by India’s philosophy of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’.

The conference discussed the issues of climate change, population growth, food insecurity, financial debt, inequality and conflicts that directly affect developing countries, and discussed the challenges, priorities and solutions in the Global South, especially to ensure sustainable development.

–IANS

as/