Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — On 27 January, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a meeting to discuss the draft State Program "Year of Environmental Protection and ‘Green Economy’."

In recent years, the negative consequences of climate change have been increasingly felt globally. In response to these challenges, Uzbekistan is actively transitioning to a "green" economy. Over the past three years, the country has launched 16 major solar and wind power plants with a total capacity of 3.5 gigawatts, as well as 35 small hydropower plants.

A system for issuing "green energy" certificates has been introduced in industry, and over 60,000 homes have installed solar panels. As part of the "Yashil Makon" program, annual greening of territories is carried out, with a focus on the rational use of water resources.

2025 has been declared the Year of Environmental Protection and "Green Economy" in Uzbekistan. In connection with this, a draft state program was developed, which underwent a month-long public discussion. The program was presented to 11 million citizens, incorporating more than 100 relevant proposals. UN structures and other international organizations expressed their willingness to cooperate in its implementation.

One of the key areas of the program is energy. Thanks to active efforts in recent years, the share of "green" energy in the country’s energy structure has reached 16%. This figure is expected to increase to 26% in 2025. To achieve this, 16 more large solar and wind power plants with a total capacity of 3.5 gigawatts, 5 major hydropower plants with a capacity of 160 megawatts, and energy storage systems with a total capacity of 1.8 gigawatts will be launched.

Additionally, the President instructed the development of projects for the construction of 1-gigawatt power plants. Support for the installation of solar panels on state enterprises, industrial and service complexes, as well as private homes, will continue, with 2 trillion soums allocated in the form of loans.

For further implementation of sustainable environmental solutions, the use of heat pumps in kindergartens, schools, and hospitals will be expanded, following the positive experience of School No. 19 in the Bayaud District of the Syrdarya region.

The "Green Economy" not only involves the development of clean energy but also the improvement of energy efficiency across various sectors. This year, the goal is to maintain economic growth at no less than 6% and achieve a gross domestic product (GDP) exceeding $125 billion. Key factors for this include rationality and savings.

In this regard, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance has been tasked with developing a program aimed at reducing costs by 15-20% and increasing added value through energy efficiency. The President emphasized the need to transition to a resource-saving economic model.

To achieve this, it is important to develop industries with low energy consumption and high added value, as well as implement resource-saving technologies in large enterprises with high energy consumption. Among the measures are conducting energy audits and implementing new technologies at 400 such enterprises.

In the future, developed countries will prefer products produced using "green technologies." In this context, by 2025, 15% of production and infrastructure projects will be environmentally friendly, and by 2030, this figure is expected to reach 55%. To support such projects, $300 million will be attracted from international financial organizations.

When constructing energy complexes, equipment worth $4 billion will be produced within Uzbekistan, increasing the share of the "green component" in major projects from 25% to 31%.

As part of the "Yashil Makon" program, 200 million trees are planted annually, and over the past three years, 698 gardens and 316 public parks have been created. Green areas of about 2 million hectares have been established on the dried seabed of the Aral Sea.

In 2025, 18 forestry enterprises will be created to grow saplings, with strengthened breeding work and the establishment of seed-growing laboratories and experimental plots. The plan is to grow 123 million saplings and launch the online platform "Yashil Olam" for selling saplings.

Moreover, businesses engaged in greening and using environmentally clean equipment and materials in their production processes will receive the status of "green entrepreneurs." This will be reflected in the entrepreneurs’ rankings, and they will receive support in obtaining a "green certificate" and expanding into new markets.

During the meeting, the responsible officials presented the tasks outlined in the draft state program, as well as plans for its implementation.