“For Uzbekistan to meet its ambitious climate and energy targets, strengthening coordination at all levels is essential,” according to Shohzod Islamov, Head of Green Development Department at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, who stressed that cities and the national government must work hand-in-hand. He was speaking among other city and national representatives at the CCFLA Central Asia Hub Forum in Tashkent on building decarbonization and energy efficiency strategies.
On February 18–19, 2025, officials and experts from across Central Asia convened in Tashkent, Uzbekistan for the first CCFLA Central Asia Local Hub Forum, co-organized by the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM). The event brought together around 90 participants, including city leaders from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan, national ministry representatives, international donors, and financial institutions, all engaged in advancing green building efforts.
Head of Cooperation at the Delegation of the European Union to Uzbekistan Wim Riepma reminded participants of the clear link between emissions and buildings. This has been showcased in Climate Action Plans conducted by the Global Covenant of Mayors across numerous regions within Uzbekistan, with the financial support of the EU. Mr Riepma also highlighted the EU’s future support to develop the National Spatial Data Infrastructure in Uzbekistan, a tool that will contribute to evidence-based housing and energy policies that can reduce pollution and support sustainability.
Kristiina Yang, Manager of the Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance (CCFLA), opened the forum by noting its significance: “This forum serves as a platform to raise awareness of the buildings’ decarbonization agenda in Central Asia,” she said, emphasizing “the importance of coordinated, multi-level action and comprehensive policies to mobilize finance and ensure effective implementation at the city level.”
The high-level welcome set an ambitious tone, highlighting that strong cooperation between national and local stakeholders, bolstered by international partnerships is essential to achieve climate and energy goals. Speakers underscored that improving energy efficiency in buildings can not only cut emissions but also improve living standards, create new jobs and contribute to local economic development, making it a cornerstone of urban sustainability efforts in the region.
Aligning National Policies with Local Action
A recurring theme was the critical role of national policies and local implementation strategies in decarbonizing buildings. In a dedicated roundtable, officials from Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Construction and Housing Communal Services, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change and Uzenergyinspection outlined current and planned initiatives to accelerate building decarbonization. These initiatives focus on strengthening building codes, promoting modern insulation and solar technologies, and ensuring that city-level actions align with national climate targets.
The exchange between national and city representatives highlighted how policy frameworks translate on the ground. For example, newly developed Climate Action Plans in several Uzbek cities were showcased as efforts to localize national climate commitments.
Participants agreed that clear national guidelines combined with empowered local governments can create a powerful engine for greener buildings, provided that communication and cooperation remain strong.
Financing Solutions and Donor Matchmaking for Green Renovations
Another key focus was on financing solutions to retrofit and decarbonize public buildings. A “city-to-donor matchmaking” session connected municipal projects with potential funding programs.
Contributions from the Intersectoral Energy Saving Fund under the Ministry of Energy of Uzbekistan highlighted ongoing national efforts in mobilizing finance for energy efficiency in buildings. Project preparation stakeholders, including the Financing Energy for Low-Carbon Investment (FELICITY II) program (a GIZ/EIB collaboration), and the Green Climate Fund, IFIs such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and bilateral development cooperation agencies such as France’s Agence Française de Développement (AFD), and other international partners such as UNDP, presented their offerings and success stories.
They highlighted financing instruments leveraging blended finance and climate gap financing (Green Climate Fund), impactful initiatives such as ADB’s support for Green Renovation in Uzbekistan under the Uzbekistan Mortgage Market Sector Development Program and AFD’s Methodology for sustainable cities.
FELICITY II introduced a new “Energy Efficiency in Public Buildings” Renovation Loan Program , which will provide affordable loans for insulating and upgrading schools, hospitals, and other public facilities.
This program was hailed as a potential game-changer, poised to unlock investments across hundreds of buildings. The GCoM team contributed concrete data to bolster investor confidence, sharing results from energy audits of 35 public buildings across five Uzbek cities.
By facilitating direct dialogue and donor matchmaking, the forum helped demystify the financing process for cities and sparked interest from funders to support ready-to-go projects.
Showcasing City Success Stories in Energy Efficiency
Throughout the forum, success stories and case studies provided inspiration and practical lessons. Speakers pointed to recent building retrofit programs in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, as well as in EU countries like Poland, to illustrate what progress in energy efficiency can look like on the ground. For example, insights from a Kazakh pilot program on residential apartment insulation showed how clear government incentives and homeowner engagement led to measurable energy savings.
International examples, like Poland’s nationwide building renovation strategy, underscored the importance of combining policy, finance, and technical know-how to achieve scale.
Overcoming Funding Challenges for Cities
Despite the success stories, participants acknowledged that cities face significant challenges in accessing funding for climate-friendly projects. Common hurdles include a lack of technical expertise to design bankable projects, limited access to finance or credit for municipalities, and sometimes weak institutional frameworks to support project implementation.
These barriers can leave even well-intentioned city plans stuck on paper. During the forum’s discussions, city leaders candidly described the difficulty of navigating complex donor requirements and the shortage of staff trained in preparing airtight project proposals. In response, experts and donors brainstormed strategies to overcome these obstacles.
One major solution discussed was enhancing project preparation support, helping cities conduct feasibility studies, energy audits, and cost-benefit analyses that can make a stronger case to funders. For instance, GCoM and partners introduced the idea of tapping the City Climate Finance Gap Fund, which offers technical assistance to cities to get early-stage projects ready for investment.
In an interactive workshop, teams from Uzbek and Kyrgyz cities worked with mentors to draft Expressions of Interest (EoI) for the Gap Fund, honing their project concepts and filling in data gaps. This hands-on exercise equipped cities with the know-how to turn concepts into bankable proposals. By the end of the forum, there was a clear sense that while challenges in accessing funding are real, they are surmountable through capacity building, clearer pipelines of projects, and continued engagement between cities and financiers.
International Collaboration and Technical Assistance
The Tashkent forum itself was a testament to the power of international collaboration in tackling climate challenges. It was coordinated by the CCFLA Central Asia Hub in partnership with Uzbek authorities and global initiatives like GCoM, FELICITY II, the GAP Fund, and the European Investment Bank.
Representatives from Germany’s BMWK and the European Investment Bank echoed that sentiment via video messages, affirming their support for Central Asia’s green building efforts. Technical assistance emerged as a key form of collaboration. The Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM) team, for instance, played an active role throughout the two-day event – organizing sessions, sharing expertise, and presenting data to guide discussions.
GCoM’s experts initially conducted the public building walk-through energy audits and also helped cities interpret the results and prioritize investments. Similarly, international programs offered to pair Central Asian cities with European mentor cities to exchange know-how on retrofitting buildings and securing finance, a peer-to-peer approach that was met with great interest.
A tangible product of the forum’s collaborative spirit was the launch of a new CCFLA “Green Buildings Project Preparation Course for Central Asia,” an online training developed with input from GCoM and others to build local capacity. Available in both English and Russian, this course will equip local officials and practitioners with the knowledge to design sustainable building projects and navigate climate finance.
Key Takeaways and Next Steps
By the end of the forum, a number of concrete takeaways and commitments had emerged. Organizers summarized key follow-up actions to maintain the forum’s momentum. These included the need to assist additional Kyrgyz and Uzbek cities in adopting Climate Action Plans (CAPs) to formally integrate building decarbonization targets into local policy. There was also emphasis on the need for further peer-to-peer exchanges between Central Asian cities and EU cities, allowing local mayors and engineers to learn directly from successful retrofit programs abroad, as well as supplying experts to guide Uzbek and Kyrgyz municipalities in preparing Expressions of Interest (EoIs) for the City Climate Finance Gap Fund, unlocking technical assistance for project design and preparation.
The forum’s organizers expressed hope that this gathering will become an annual event, continually bringing stakeholders together to track progress, share innovations, and raise ambition. As Central Asian cities strive to modernize their buildings and meet climate goals, the CCFLA Central Asia Hub Forum has built a strong foundation on shared learning and pragmatic financing solutions.