ASTANA – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev urged fair, practical, and implementation-focused climate cooperation, stressing that environmental protection is a shared responsibility and a strategic priority for global stability, as Central Asian and regional leaders gathered in Astana for the Regional Ecological Summit (RES) 2026.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Photo credit: Akorda Opening the plenary session on Earth Day, Tokayev said Central Asia is moving toward a more unified approach linking climate, water, and environmental security into a single regional agenda. He warned that global uncertainty and environmental risks are already affecting millions of people, and stressed the importance of multilateral institutions and international law.
“We meet here at a time of growing uncertainties and unpredictabilities. Needless to elaborate how deeply and harmfully they affect global and regional stability and life’s quality of millions of people,” he said, adding that the UN Charter must remain the foundation of global governance.
He stressed that climate policy must be fair and balanced, warning against unequal burdens on developing countries and politicization of environmental cooperation. “ The global transition to cleaner models must be fair, balanced and stimulating. … 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. Nature can exist without geopolitics, and the latter cannot exist without nature,” he said. Tokayev also highlighted regional environmental threats, including water scarcity, glacial melt, desertification, and biodiversity loss, calling for coordinated action across Central Asia.
He stressed that the summit must deliver practical outcomes. “ The time for indicating successes is over, the time for making solutions has come,” he said. He added that protecting the planet is both a moral duty and a strategic necessity. “This summit reminds us that protecting our planet is a shared responsibility of all humanity.
It is about the future of humankind and of our younger generation. It is not only an environmental task, it is a highly moral duty.It is an economic necessity. And it is a strategic priority for peace and stability,” Tokayev said. Central Asian leaders call for coordinated action on climate change and fair climate financing Central Asian leaders echoed the call for stronger cooperation and shared responsibility.