Climate, environment and energy are among the most important areas of cooperation between Europe and Central Asia. A conference in Brussels with numerous speakers from Central Asia and Europe was dedicated to the state and prospects of energy transition in Central Asia. The conference was jointly organised by the SPCE Hub, Ghent University, the European Neighbourhood Council (ENC) and ISoG BW.

After introductory remarks by Samuel Doveri Verstbye (ENC) and Sebastian Schiek (SPCE Hub), Professor Fabienne Bossuyt from Ghent University gave the keynote speech. Her speech focused on the importance and role of resilience in ambitious projects such as the energy transition and the EU’s cooperation with Central Asia.

The first panel, moderated by Yana Zabanova of the Research Institute for Sustainability in Potsdam (RIFS), was dedicated to the energy transition in Central Asia. Panelists Dr Bahtiyor Eshchanov, an energy economist from Tashkent, and Dr Abylaikhan Soltanayev, an engineer from AUES University in Almaty, examined the issue from economic, technological and educational perspectives. Ainur Sospanova, Chair of the Renewable Energy Association, QazaqGreen, addressed the issues of regulation and reform of the electricity market from a practical perspective. Dr Wladimir Sgibnev of IfL Leipzig spoke about the relationship between transport and energy transition in Central Asia.

The second panel was dedicated to the issue of sustainability, inclusivity, participatory and transdisciplinary research from the perspective of science and practice. It was moderated by Dr Karolina Kluczewska from the University of Ghent. The practitioners on the panel were Ainura Sagyn, founder and director of TAZAR in Kyrgyzstan, and Saida Yuysupova, founder and director of Green Business Innovation and Tech4Impact Uzbekistan. The scientists on the panel were Kubatbek Mukhtarbekov (Kyrgyz State Technical University and Berlin University of Applied Sciences) and Professor Jochen Eckart (Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences).

Between the two panels, Alexey Kobzev (German-Kazakh University Almaty) and Fabienne Bossuyt (Ghent University) interviewed the Head of the Middle East and Central Asia Unit of the EU Directorate for International Partnerships (INTPA).