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Tashkent, Uzbekistan — May 7, 2026. A new green finance window has opened for Uzbek businesses and households, giving them a clearer path to funding for climate-related projects. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) are backing the initiative, and Hamkorbank has already signed on as the first local financial institution to take part.
The programme will channel up to US$20 million toward private-sector investments in climate change adaptation, energy efficiency and agricultural irrigation. The package includes an EBRD loan of up to US$18 million and US$2 million in concessional financing from the GCF. The aim is to support projects across the country that deploy climate technologies and use water, energy and other resources more efficiently.
One of the more practical elements of the new initiative is how the money can be borrowed. Financing will be available either through a synthetic loan tied to the Uzbek soum or in US dollars. For a business that earns revenue in soum, that flexibility matters. Borrowing in dollars can become expensive if the local currency weakens, so the soum-linked option helps reduce the currency mismatch between income and debt.
The synthetic structure is not simply a technical detail. It allows Uzbek entrepreneurs to take on green finance without carrying the full burden of exchange rate risk. That broadens access to funding for smaller companies, especially those in agriculture, food processing, and other water-intensive industries. The financing can be used for equipment, irrigation improvements, solar panels, electric vehicles, and industrial emissions reduction measures.
The EBRD estimates that projects supported under this programme will cut carbon dioxide emissions by roughly 5,685 tonnes per year. That is a modest number in global terms, but for a programme of this size it points to a targeted, practical impact.
The new initiative does not start from scratch. It extends the Uzbekistan Green Economy Financing Facility, which has already gone through two earlier phases. The first was launched in 2018, and a second followed in 2023. Together, those phases created a US$160 million financing mechanism for green investments.
That earlier work has produced a measurable footprint. According to the EBRD, the previous phases supported 425 projects through five participating financial institutions. Nearly 10% of those projects were implemented by businesses owned or led by women, which suggests the facility has managed to reach beyond the usual corporate borrowers.
The energy and emissions figures from the earlier phases are also worth noting. The programme generated annual energy savings of approximately 1.1 million gigajoules and reduced CO2 emissions by around 53,000 tonnes a year. It also helped finance the installation of more than 14.3 MW of renewable energy capacity.
None of that happened in isolation. The EBRD says the initiative also helped local financial institutions strengthen their own expertise in green lending. That kind of institutional capacity is often as valuable as the money itself, because it allows climate finance to be reinvested and scaled up without depending on outside donors forever.
Hamkorbank is Uzbekistan’s third-largest lender, so its participation gives the programme immediate reach. The bank will receive the financing package and then pass it on to private borrowers in a way that fits local lending practice. For the EBRD and the GCF, having a major commercial bank on board early reduces the friction of introducing new financial products in the Uzbek market.
The choice of Hamkorbank also signals that the programme is meant to be practical, not just symbolic. Commercial banks manage repayment risk, evaluate project viability, and deal with smaller borrowers on a daily basis. By working through an established institution, the development partners can avoid creating a parallel lending system that might disappear after the funding runs out.
The focus on agriculture and irrigation is particularly relevant for Uzbekistan. Water is a strategic resource in Central Asia, and inefficient irrigation has long been a constraint in rural areas. Loans aimed at better water use and sustainable land management can therefore deliver economic benefits that go well beyond carbon accounting.
The broader name of the initiative — the Green Finance Systems Greening programme — points to a wider ambition. The idea is to make climate considerations part of normal lending and investment decisions across Uzbekistan’s financial sector. That means aligning bank portfolios with climate objectives, not just financing a handful of green projects.
Water efficiency, sustainable land management, and improved resource use are listed among the priorities. Those are not secondary concerns in Uzbekistan. Agriculture remains a significant part of the economy, and the country has invested heavily in modernizing its irrigation infrastructure in recent years. Aligning climate finance with those state priorities gives the programme a stronger chance of making a lasting difference.
There is also a business logic behind the green lending push. Companies that reduce energy and water waste tend to cut operating costs. When financing is available on concessional terms, the business case becomes even more attractive. That is a realistic way to grow a green finance market in a country where businesses are still gaining familiarity with climate-related lending.
This is not the EBRD’s first major involvement in Uzbekistan. The bank has invested nearly US$7.3 billion in the country through 219 projects, with a significant share going to private businesses. The green finance programme is therefore part of a much larger relationship.
That long track record gives the EBRD a strong read on local conditions. It also means the bank can move faster when a new funding window opens, because the institutional relationships and market knowledge are already in place.
For the GCF, whose role is to channel climate finance into developing economies, the partnership with the EBRD offers an established delivery channel. Instead of building a new network from the ground up, the fund can rely on a development finance institution that already knows how to assess and disburse project finance in Central Asia.
The immediate next step is to turn the framework into approved projects. Hamkorbank will likely start by identifying strong borrowers in the energy and agriculture sectors, then build a lending pipeline around the $20 million package. If the demand is there, the model could be scaled further.
The original facility’s previous phases prove that such programmes can grow. Starting with a narrower mandate in 2018, the mechanism expanded to hundreds of projects and multiple banks by 2023. The new phase has a stronger focus on climate adaptation and water efficiency, which reflects both national needs and global priorities.
None of this is a cure-all for Central Asia’s climate financing gap. But the programme adds a practical, bankable layer of funding where it is most needed. And by miring project support with local currency flexibility and technical support for lenders, it gives Uzbek businesses a more solid footing for the transition to a lower-carbon economy.
For businesses and households in Uzbekistan, the message is simple: green investment no longer has to be a donor-funded experiment. It is becoming an ordinary part of the financial system.
