The EDB announces a new study, Eurasia in the Global Green Agenda, at the 24th Yasin (April) Conference
13 April 2023. In mid-May, the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) will present a new study, Eurasia in the Global Green Agenda, analysing climate policy in the region and objectives for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and decarbonising the economies. This was announced by EDB representatives at the 24th Yasin (April) International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development.
At the roundtable titled Strategic Priorities for the Development of Eurasian Integration: towards Effective Supranationality, Sergey Vasiliev, Vice Chairman of the EDB Management Board, noted prospects for projects with high and socially significant cooperative effects for EAEU countries and the role of international development institutions in strategic planning and project management in the Union.
Evgeny Vinokurov, Chief Economist at the EDB, conducted an honorary lecture titled New Central Asia where he presented the Bank’s recent report, The Economy of Central Asia: A Fresh Perspective.
“Central Asia’s strategic role will grow as a result of economic and structural changes that are taking place in it. The five states of the region have achieved significant progress in their development since 2000. Their aggregate GDP increased by a factor of 8.6, their cumulative foreign investment by 17.2 times and foreign trade in commodities by 8.4. Over this period, the region’s average GDP growth rate was 6.2%, which is much faster than both the global average and the average for developing countries,” he said.
Evgeny Vinokurov also noted that the countries of the region faced four key structural challenges that required concerted action: lack of access to the sea; the financial sector’s low level of development; poorly coordinated management of the water and energy complex; and climate change. Solving these problems will most effectively unlock the region’s economic potential. Investment in transport, the Central Asian water and energy complex, institutional capacity, regional financial market development and adaptation to climate change will be important in the coming years.
During the roundtable discussion on Sustainable Development in an Unstable World: the Green Agenda for Regional Integration Organisations co-hosted by HSE and the EDB, Albrecht Conrad, Managing Director and Head of the Bank's Sustainable Development Directorate, made a presentation on the role of green finance for sustainability.
“Investment in the global energy transition exceeded US $1 trillion at the end of 2022. However, achieving carbon neutrality, especially in developing countries, will require an annual investment of US $4–6 trillion by 2050,” he stressed.
Albrecht Conrad believes that the EAEU+ market in green finance has room for growth and needs incentives and benefits for both responsible investors and green project owners.
“The Eurasian Development Bank aims to build up its environment and climate financing in the member countries in cooperation with other multilateral development institutions,” he concluded.
At the roundtable on the Prospects for the Forming of the Eurasian Scientific and Educational Area, Vladimir Pereboyev, Head of Division at the EDB Centre for Integration Studies, presented the EAEU+ Academic Mobility Programme.
“Launching the Shokan Valikhanov regional academic mobility programme could encourage young people and universities to promote Eurasian cooperation. Such a programme could be launched not only in EAEU and CIS countries but within the Greater Eurasian Partnership in order to encourage educational exchanges, involving tens of thousands of participants per year with flexible funding and creditable courses. This will create structural elements of cooperation in science and education based on partnerships among leading universities and businesses and with a focus on training engineers and advanced personnel for the progressive development of Eurasian integration,” Vladimir Pereboyev said.
HSE’s expert report titled Sustainable Development in an Unstable World: Bringing Regions, Cities and Companies Together includes an article by Vladimir Pereboyev, Approaches to Shaping a Green Economy in Eurasia. The article focuses on green transformation approaches and tools used in EAEU countries, including taxonomies of green projects and assistance from multilateral development banks, including the EDB.
Additional Information:
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is an international financial institution investing in Eurasia. For more than 17 years, the Bank has worked to strengthen and expand economic ties and foster comprehensive development in its member countries. The EDB's charter capital totals US $7 billion. Its portfolio consists principally of projects with an integration effect in transport infrastructure, digital systems, green energy, agriculture, manufacturing, and mechanical engineering. The Bank’s operations are guided by the UN Sustainable Development Goals and ESG principles.
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