Countries in the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) region face severe impacts of climate change, now and more so in the future. We have witnessed particularly dramatic and deadly examples of the impacts of climate change in the region, including the devastating floods in Pakistan, punishing droughts in Afghanistan and the People\u2019s Republic of China, days and even weeks of excessive heat, and cross-border conflict over scarce water resources in Central Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These climate-linked events are sharp reminders of the long-term prospects for even more serious impacts of climate change if urgent steps are not taken to control carbon emissions and to increase the resilience of the countries so they can withstand the worsening impacts of climate change over the coming decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And while it may be understandable that these long-term challenges and threats are not currently the top concerns of the policymakers or the general public\u2014considering the current global economic crises of inflation, financial stress, food insecurity, and geopolitical tensions\u2014it will be critical for the welfare of the people in the CAREC region that climate change issues are addressed urgently and effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is, therefore, timely that CAREC is focusing attention on climate change as a crosscutting issue for its CAREC 2030 Strategy.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Source: CAREC 2030: Supporting Regional Actions to Address Climate Change: A Scoping Study<\/p>\n\n\n