President of Tajikistan proposed UN to Declare 2025 “The International Year for Preservation of Glaciers”

The President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, addressing at the UN high-level thematic debate on "Delivering Climate Action: for People, Planet and Prosperity", proposed to declare the year of 2025 " The International Year for the Preservation of Glaciers" and set a specific date for the "World Glacier Preservation Day ".

"Tajikistan has repeatedly called on the international community to establish a specialized “International Fund for Glacier Preservation”, under which we could jointly mobilize efforts and resources for taking practical steps to preserve glaciers -the main source of fresh water" - said President Emomali Rahmon.

He stressed that Tajikistan will continue its efforts towards full transition to Integrated Water Resources Management with a special focus on efficient and rational use of water resources at national and regional levels. He added that Tajikistan reaffirms its commitment to prioritize climate change in the UN and other important international platforms. The President also noted that Tajikistan's contribution to global warming is minimal, since the country's share in global emissions is only 0.0003%.

“Nevertheless, in the framework of the Paris Agreement, Tajikistan made a voluntary commitment not to exceed 80-90% of its 1990 emission level. If international support is provided, this figure could be reduced to 65-75%” - said President Emomali Rahmon.

This high-level meeting took place on the eve of the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference, which starts on October 31, 2021. Its main goal is to agree on measures to keep global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, in line with the Paris Agreement.