RES 2026 Opens With Call For Global Climate Action Cooperation

By C. Vinoothene

ASTANA (Kazakhstan), April 22 (Bernama) -- Global cooperation in tackling climate change took centre stage at the opening of the Regional Ecology Summit (RES) 2026 here on Wednesday, with Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev urging a pragmatic and balanced approach to sustainability.

Speaking at the summit, Tokayev said environmental cooperation should serve as a unifying force, calling for partnership, trust and shared responsibility in addressing global challenges.

“Environmental cooperation must serve as a reliable instrument of unity and should not divide us.

“It should be based on partnership, trust and shared responsibility, with no naming, no shaming and no blaming. As partners, we must work pragmatically and responsibly in support of peace and sustainable development.

“Nature can exist without politics; politics cannot exist without nature,” he said on Wednesday.

Tokayev said some environmental policies fail to fully account for differing levels of development among countries, particularly those still building their economies, stressing that the transition to cleaner energy must be fair and not come at the expense of economic growth.

“Environmental agendas are, in many cases, shaped without fully considering the development needs of different regions and countries, especially emerging states that are still building their economic capacities.

“Therefore, the transition to cleaner models must be fair, balanced and humane,” he said.

The summit, which runs from today until April 24, aims to bring together Central Asian countries, in partnership with the United Nations (UN) and other international organisations, to develop shared solutions to climate change and broader environmental challenges.

Leaders and participants from more than 50 countries, along with representatives from the UN and the World Health Organisation (WHO), are attending the summit, which focuses on key climate issues, including the energy transition, the water crisis and green financing.

-- BERNAMA