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�Bridging the gaps of climate finance in Central Asia: �Republic of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan

Elena Zanardi

Component Manager

Climate Risk Management and Finance in Central Asia

April 23rd 2026

In cooperation with:

Supported by:

Logo of cooperation partner

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Logo of cooperation partner

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Context : Small Grants and Climate Innovation Facility�

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  • Financed by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and implemented by GIZ (Climate Risk Management and Finance in Central Asia)

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  • Established to support NGOs, civil society groups, research institutions and the private sector

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  • Goal:
      • increase resilience to effects of climate change
      • reduce harmful emissions of greenhouse gases

in Central Asia

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  • Regional cooperation and knowledge sharing at the heart of the concept

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Duration

01 Sept. 2025 – 30 June 2026

Location

Kyrgyz Republic & Uzbekistan

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Stake-holders

Project designer and implementer:

Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI)

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Government Partners:

KG - Ministry Economy and Commerce

of the Kyrgyz Republic

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UZ - Ministry Economy and Finance

of the Republic of Uzbekistan

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Project: Bridging the gaps of climate finance in Central Asia�

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Goals of the project

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3 main streams of activities:

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  1. Capacity Development of financial experts (government and private sector)

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  • Climate Finance Gap Assessment and Action Plan for KG and UZ

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  • Engaging financial institutions

Bridging climate finance gap

Enhancing green investment opportunities

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  • Foundations of Sustainable Finance and ESG Integration

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  • Designing Green and ESG-linked Financial Products

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  • Operationalizing Sustainable Finance

    • Standards rating and reporting
    • ESMS policy and procedures
    • ESRM

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1. Capacity Development

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🡪 comprehensive BOOKLET

lasting reference resource and support for broader knowledge dissemination

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2. Climate finance Gap Assessment

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Critical importance of:

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    • coordinated policy reform and institutional strengthening
    • greater private sector mobilization and expanding pipelines of bankable projects
    • building technical capacity of banks for green financing
    • deploying innovative finance instruments (a.o. blended finance, first-loss facilities, and Islamic finance)

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  • Conducted by PwC, under supervision and with quality assurance of GGGI’s technical team

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  • Reveals substantial investment needs and structural barriers

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2. Climate finance Gap Assessment - KG

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  • $23 billion investments needed to meet climate targets under NDC 3.0 by 2035, with an estimated annual financing gap of around $930 million

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  • Achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 require an additional $10.7 billion investments (2025-2050)

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  • International donors remain the main contributors to climate finance, providing $1.3billion (2017–2024) mostly through concessional loans and grants.

Source: NDC 2.0, NDC 3.0, Biennial Transparency Report (BTR) Kyrgyzstan (UNFCCC, 2025), PwC analysis

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2. Climate finance Gap Assessment - UZ

  • Annual climate finance needs estimated at $15.7 - 34 billion (primarily power sector)

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  • Achieving 2060 carbon‑neutrality target require additional $9 bn annually

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  • Finance flows remain heavily reliant on external public debt

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Financing need

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Available financing

NZ2055

NZ2060

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Annual climate finance demand and supply in 2025, in billion USD

Climate financing gap

52.6%

FDIs and external �public debt

32.3%

Budget

13.2%

International flows

1.9%

Green bonds

Source: 1Climate Policy Initiative (2025), PwC analysis (2025)

The structure of the available financing

Private

4%

Public

Grants

Low-cost project debt

Balance sheet financing (equity portion)

Project-level equity

Balance sheet financing (debt portion)

Project-level market rate debt

Climate finance instruments1 to close the gap

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2. Climate finance Gap Assessment : �key recommendations

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Operationalizing the Green Taxonomy

Phased mandatory ESG disclosure

Establishment of a Climate Guarantee Facility

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Establishment of a National Green Investment Fund

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Development of a national adaptation finance strategy

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Carbon market development = longer-term opportunity, reflecting the country's relatively low emissions profile.

Development of a national carbon pricing roadmap

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Kyrgyz Republic

15 prioritized recommendations

Uzbekistan

18 prioritized recommendations

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    • Longlisting & shortlisting of banks/institutions

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  • Assist the financial institutions to:
    • Develop or improve their Green framework
    • Second-Party Opinion (SPO)

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  • Potential mobilization of at least $100 mln. 

3. Engaging financial institutions

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Project achievements:

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Kyrgyz Republic:

    • Green Bond – Abank (ex- Aiyl Bank)
    • Sovereign Green Bond – Ministry of Finance

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Uzbekistan:

    • Sustainable Bond – Business Development Bank
    • Green Financing Facility – Agrobank

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+ Potential collaboration under discussion with Aloqabank (debut issuance of corporate Eurobonds at London Stock Exchange)

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3. Engaging financial institutions

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  • Moving from traditional corporate instruments toward market-based, investment-oriented green finance frameworks is possible now!

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  • Unlocking private capital in green and climate sector is possible now!

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  • Tangible expected results:

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            • Reduction of perceived risks for investors
            • Development of national capital markets
            • Improved access to international capital markets : credible, internationally aligned investment instruments

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Conclusions?

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Thank you for attention!

Elena Zanardi

Component Manager

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elena.zanardi@giz.de

Catalina Garcia

Investment Officer

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catalina.garcia@gggi.org

In cooperation with:

Supported by: