CENTRAL ASIAN JOURNALISTS LEARNT EUROPEAN EXPERIENCE ON RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE NETHERLANDS

      The Netherlands – Journalists from the countries of Central Asia (CA) – winners of the 2020 and 2022 European Union (EU) regional media contests – visited the Netherlands for a week-long study tour on “Renewable energy – state of the art”.

     The study tour was organized jointly by two projects “European Union – Central Asia Water, Environment and Climate Change Cooperation (WECOOP)” and “Sustainable Energy Connectivity in Central Asia (SECCA)”, funded by the European Union, with the aim to share the EU and Dutch experience in implementation of new policies in the renewable energy sector, production of wind energy, bioenergy and green hydrogen, introduction of new nature friendly technologies, as well as development of climate adaptive cities and sustainable buildings.

        In May 2022, the EU adopted a new plan – REPowerEU – to fast-forward the green transition and scale up renewable energy. The Netherlands along with other EU countries is taking steps to boost sustainable energy production and find smarter ways of using and saving energy. The Dutch government is to set up a EUR 35 billion climate and transition fund aimed at facilitating the installation of the required energy infrastructure. According to the “Oliver Wyman” research (2022), the Netherlands is leading Europe’s energy transition, while the data from Energy Monitor (2022) puts the Netherlands at the forefront of Europe’s hydrogen race with the highest subsidies.

      Addressing the participants, Mr Valts Vilnitis, WECOOP Team Leader, stated: “Welcome to the Netherlands! This study tour is your well-deserved prize, and it is a great pleasure for us to see you here. On behalf of the EU’s WECOOP Project and the fellow SECCA Project, let me say thank you for your work and dedication to matters of environmental protection. I hope this study tour will give you many new insights and inspiration for your further research and reporting on green economy, climate action, and, of course, switching to sustainable energy sources”.

       8 journalists from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan participated in this study tour and visited the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate of the Netherlands, Windpark Groen and House of the Province in Flevoland, GIGA Storage energy company, Green Village in Delft, Port of Rotterdam, SolarEis project in Apeldoorn, and Amsterdam Waste Energy Company.

       Background: The EU-funded project “European Union – Central Asia Water, Environment and Climate Change Cooperation (WECOOP)” (third phase from October 2019 to April 2023) aims to enhance environment, climate change and water policies at national levels in Central Asia through approximation to the EU standards and to promote investments in relevant sectors with the aim of contributing to measurable reductions in man-made pollution, including CO₂ emission. The project activities include support to the EU–CA Platform for Environment and Water Cooperation and its Working Group on Environment and Climate Change, as well as implementation of the EU Green Deal’s international dimension in Central Asia to advance climate action.

      The EU-funded project “Sustainable Energy Connectivity in Central Asia (SECCA)” (from March 2022 to March 2026) aims to promote a sustainable energy mix in the Central Asia region in line with EU best practices. The project activities include capacity development for energy efficience (EE) and renewable energy (RE) deployment, awareness raising on EE and RE, and improving investment climate for EE and RE projects.

       For additional information, please contact Mrs Yelena Serebrennikova, Senior Communication Expert, WECOOP and SECCA, e-mail: media@wecoop.eu, mobile/WhatsApp +77019814020, Mrs Nurgul Smagulova-Dulic, Digital Communication Expert, WECOOP and SECCA, e-mail: nurgul.smagulova@wecoop.eu, WhatsApp: +77012066760, or

      the EU Delegation to Kazakhstan: delegation-kazakhstan-pic@eeas.europa.eu.

 www.wecoop.eu; www.eeas.europa.eu/secca