Germany, EU Introduce Green Central Asia Initiative

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas formally introduced the plan on January 28. (Wikimedia Commons)

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas launched the Green Central Asia Plan on January 28. The initiative, announced at a conference held in Berlin, includes the Central Asian states of Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan.

It is aimed at simultaneously boosting relations between Central Asian countries and adopting environmentally-friendly policies, with Maas saying, “if climate change knows no borders, then our answer to it also must not know any borders.” According to Euractiv, an independent European media organization, Germany’s involvement in the process stems from its desire to capitalize on its current status as a non-member state on the UN Security Council to implement its policy goals.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell was also present at the meeting. The EU is actively involved in Central Asia, and Maas attributes the platform for the initiative to the European Union-Central Asia (EU-CA) Water and Environment Cooperation Platform (WECOOP), established ten years ago. Donald Tusk, former-president of the European Council, also visited the area last June during a climate-oriented trip.

On the Environmental Performance Index, which ranks “180 countries on 24 performance indicators across ten issue categories covering environmental health and ecosystem vitality,” the Central Asian countries perform poorly, with only Turkmenistan (38) and Kyrgyzstan (99) breaking into the top 100. Issues such as over-irrigation and overgrazing have also led to a water shortage in the region, and Central Asian countries often engage in infighting due to their dependence on the shared Amu Darya and Syr Darya Rivers. The region’s security is also expected to be affected by climate change, which, according to the World Economic Forum, will lead to increased conflicts between the countries.

Central Asia holds global importance due to its proximity to both Russia and China, and the implications of this initiative could be wide-ranging. China and Russia have yet to comment on the plan.