SCO climate cooperation and regional low-carbon practice

Amid global climate crises, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has advanced ecological governance cooperation under the framework of the 2021 SCO Green Belt Program and the statement on tackling climate change in 2022.

China's collaborations with SCO member states in salinization control and in windbreak forest construction stand as models of regional synergy.

China and Kazakhstan have focused on collaborative salinization control. Northwest A&F University and Kazakhstan National Agrarian University jointly established the science and technology demonstration park for salinized land management, testing salt-tolerant crops in the Ili River Basin.

Drip irrigation and water-salt regulation technologies are adopted to improve soil quality and explore a "cultivation-ecological restoration" cycle.

In Uzbekistan's desertification control, China and Uzbekistan built a modern agricultural technology park at the SCO Agricultural Base, promoting smart water-fertilizer integration, and supporting windbreak forest construction to reduce sand erosion.

Chinese Academy of Sciences teams also promoted straw checkerboard barriers in Central Asia, introducing stress-resistant plants to help mitigate sandstorm frequency.

Community engagement underpins cooperation. The China-Kazakhstan "Luban Workshop" trains Kazakh teachers in agricultural digitalization – such as drone mapping – to upgrade local skills.

Uzbek engineers mastering core technologies via Chinese-led salinization projects have advanced their careers.

In energy transition, SCO members have actively advanced renewable energy development. China's projects – like Kyrgyzstan's 600 MW solar plant and Uzbekistan's 1 GW photovoltaic project – drive regional green energy transitions.

SCO practices show regional cooperation is key to climate challenges.

From ecological restoration to energy transition, members are turning governance outcomes into development dividends, offering an "SCO solution" for global climate governance.

For more:

China, Central Asian nations to turn more deserts into oases

(Cover: The greater Chimgan region in Uzbekistan, April 7, 2025. /VCG)