We have entered an era where climate risk is real, with extreme events and changes in hydrological patterns increasingly expected. Governments, industry and financial institutions seek to encourage projects to be resilient to climate change, while businesses must consider how to incorporate climate-related risks and opportunities into project design and operations.

The central Asian country of Tajikistan is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Climate change projections foresee impacts on precipitation, glacial melting and extreme weather events, leading to greater hydrological variability in the region’s river flows. Naturally, these changes also carry implications for the hydropower sector that provides 98% of electricity for the mountainous country.

This webinar will explore how climate resilience was integrated in the upgrade and rehabilitation of Qairokkum Hydropower Station in Northern Tajikistan. It will further showcase how climate change information was used to inform the project design, how different design options were then evaluated and how the project was able to benefit from international cooperation.

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Webinar agenda

Introduction and welcome from IHA

Case study on the Qairokkum project by Craig Davies, EBRD:

• Understanding impact of climate change on hydrological variability
• Integrating climate change information in the project design
• Analysing cost and benefits of design measures
• Strengthening climate resilience in the hydropower operations
• Utilising climate finance to support climate resilience

Concluding remarks

General discussion and questions with audience

Speaker

Craig Davies is the associate director for climate change adaptation at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). He leads the EBRD's work to promote climate resilience through investment operations in Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, Turkey and the Southern & Eastern Mediterranean.

He has a particular interest in climate change impacts on emerging economies and in the integration of climate resilience into investment planning across a range of sectors (e.g. infrastructure, water, power and energy, manufacturing and financial services).

Craig is also actively involved in a number of international climate finance mechanisms such as the Climate Investment Funds and the Global Environment Facility. Prior to joining the EBRD he worked for the UK’s Department for International Development. He holds a PhD in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London.

Moderator

Alex Trembath joined IHA in 2013. He leads on our communications strategy and manages the delivery of a range of communications projects, including our recent website redevelopment and brand realignment, as well as our email and social media engagement.

Alex has a degree in journalism and English, and ten years’ experience in a variety of communications management roles across both the not-for-profit and commercial sectors.