SDG13: Climate Action
Local education programmes on climate
Bukhara State University provides educational programs and campaigns addressing climate change’s significance and regional implications.
On December 23, the university held a nationwide scientific and practical conference that discussed the regional issues related to overpopulation, a rapid increase in the consumption of water and energy, and food security. The conference’s main topic was “Innovative Approaches to the Production of Agricultural Goods and Protection of Plants in Diverse Soil and Climate”. The conference highlighted ecological concerns such as rational water supply, and sustainable agriculture and underlined the increasing food quality and security requirement in the global food market.
Ahmedova Mehrinigor, a professor of the English linguistics department, conducted several sessions on her experience living in Germany and the garage separation culture of this nation. As the professor noted, climate change and pollution cause major nature and health-related troubles across the globe. Professor Ahmendova was inspired by how people approach environmental protection during her stay in Germany. She noted that each family in Germany is well informed about ways of garbage separation and carefully knows how to sort produced waste into three categories: organic waste, paper waste, and plastic, which will be further recycled to produce energy. These sessions aimed to deliver the importance of participating in environmental protection, the contribution of all members in local communities, and sustainable project implementations that societies will benefit from.
Co-operative planning for climate change disasters
Bukhara State University hold events and makes efforts to raise awareness of natural disasters that may occur as a result of climate change. An event on 27 March 2023 addressed human safety in the case of natural and man-made disasters. The event speakers highlighted types of disasters that may occur due to recent climate changes and introduced measures to be taken by the staff and students if a disaster hits during their studies.
Bukhara State University, in collaboration with the Ministry of Emergencies of the Republic of Uzbekistan, frequently holds events addressing safety measures needed to be taken in case of natural disasters. Speakers from the ministry emphasize the most important rules that every citizen must follow to prevent emergent situations. On 20 November 2023, the speakers addressed fire-related accidents which may occur while using domestic gas if cautious measures and relevant preventions are not undertaken.
Inform and support the government
Bukhara State University actively supports government initiatives to mitigate the consequences of climate change. In late November 2023, UAE hosted the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) where the president of Uzbekistan Shvkat Mirziyoyev also delivered a speech addressing the importance of the transition to a green economy.
The new movement advocated by the president was also supported by the professor of Bukhara State University Sukhrob Davlatov, who is acting as the head of the green economy and agribusiness department. As the professor stated in his post, resource conservation and ecological security are important concerns in every modern country and require relevant education. Therefore, higher education institutions should reconsider the methods of delivering economic subjects and concentrate mainly on green aspects of the economy by redesigning curriculums of economic programs. He also highlighted that currently, Bukhara State University is running a bachelor’s program in green economy focusing on the most recent principles of green economy.
Another university professor, Askar Kholliyev, from the Department of Botany and Plant Physiology, states that climate change is the biggest threat to global sustainable development, particularly in the Central Asian region. He noted that the increase in the average temperature in Central Asia is twice as high as in the rest of the world. The consequences can be noticed in recent disasters such as The Aral Sea disaster, melting glaciers and more summer days with heatwaves. Prof. Kholliyev agreed that Uzbekistan must switch to a green economy and establish economic drives considering environmental factors, and emphasized the importance of projects, proposed by the president, to minimize the negative effects of climate change in Central Asia, specifically on the shore of the drying Aral Sea.
The president of Uzbekistan has also initiated a statewide campaign called “Yashil Makon” (Green Land) that involves planting decorative and fruitful seedlings to mitigate the effects of climate change in the country. Bukhara State University has actively participated in the campaign and carried out tree-planting activities in several locations, including Soktare township where the university has a campus in the rural setting. In November 2023, the campaign involved the university leadership and administration who made great efforts to improve the campus landscape.
Total energy used
Bukhara State University keeps track of its carbon footprint using the methodology developed by the UI Greenmetric. According to the last calculations, the total carbon footprint of the university in 2023 was 1,267.861 metric tons. The calculation details are provided below.
Option 1: Recommended by UI GreenMetric
CO2 (electricity)
=(electricity usage per year (kWh))/1000×0,84
=(1,445,359 kWh)/1000×0,84
= 1,214.101 metric tons
CO2 (bus)
=(number of shuttle bus in your university × total trips for shuttle bus service each day ×approximate travel distance of vehicle each day inside campus only (KM) ×240)/100×0,01
=(0 ×0 × 5 × 240)/100×0,01
= 0 metric tons
CO2 (cars)
=(number of cars entering your university × 2 × approximate travel distance of vehicle each day inside campus only (KM) ×240)/100×0,02
=(140 ×2 ×4 ×240)/100×0,02
= 53.76 metric tons
CO2 (motorcycle)
=(number of motorcycle entering your university × 2 × approximate travel distance of vehicle each day inside campus only (KM) ×240)/100×0,01
=(0 ×2 ×5 ×240)/100×0,01
= 0 metric tons
CO2 (total)
= 1,214.101+ 0 + 53.76 + 0
= 1,267.861 metric tons
Carbon footprint in the last 12 months = 1,267.861 metric tons
Additionally, the university measures its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions based on the GHG Protocol. According to the tool, provided by the GHG Protocol, the total emissions in 2023 was 2111 (CO2e) metric tonnes. The detailed calculations can be found at the following link.
Bukhara State University GHG Protocol Report
Electricity Usage per Year (in Kilowatt hour)
Description:
Total electricity usage at Bukhara State University in 2023 was 1 443 336 kWh.
The ratio of renewable energy production divided by total energy usage per year
| No | Renewable Energy | Production (in kWh) |
| Solar panel | 1 075 000 | |
| Total | 1 443 336 |
1 075 000 (Renewable Energy)/ 1 443 336(Electricity usage) = 74 %
Natural Gas usage per year (in m3)
Description:
Total natural gas usage at Bukhara State University in 2023 was 654 574.4 m3
The total number of vehicles (cars and motorcycles) divided by the total campus’ population
| No. | Vehicle | Total Number |
| 1 | The car is managed by the university | 8 |
| 2 | Cars entering the university | 145 |
| 3 | Motorcycles entering the university | 0 |
| Total | 153 |
153 / 22532 (population) = 0.0067
Shuttle Services
Shuttle buses to reach Bukhara State University are provided by third-party companies that provide paid transportation services. Part of the fare costs is remitted to the students when they receive monthly stipends.
Electric vehicles and free charging stations
At Bukhara State University, the zero-emission vehicles policy includes parking areas for bikes, limited parking area for gasoline vehicles, special parking slots for electric vehicles within the campus, bikes to rent for free and electric vehicles for the university use with a free charging station.
The ratio of Parking Area to Total Campus Area
Total main campus area: 409137.49 m2
Total parking area = 2630.23 m2 (175 spaces*15m2 per space).
Ratio = 0.006
Program to limit or decrease the parking area on campus for the last 3 years
- Limiting entrance to the campus for students
- Free-to-rent bicycles for the university staff
- Bicycle parking area for university staff and students
- An online commuting system allowing the university population to use private vehicles less
- Special parking area for electric vehicles with a close position to the main building
- Bus stops that are closely located to the campus encourage the population to use public transportation
Number of Transportation Initiatives to Decrease Private Vehicles on Campus
- Bukhara State University requested the city transportation authority to put additional bus routes passing the university’s main campus
- The car entrance to the university campus is limited to the university staff
- Free bicycles are available for the university staff
- The university encourages its population living nearby to use bicycles to commute to the university
- The university compensates the transportation fee to the students commuting by public transport.
Pedestrian Path Policy on Campus
- Pedestrian tracks across the main campus
- Separator between road for vehicle and pedestrian path.
- Ramps for pedestrians having physical disabilities.
- Motion sensitive Street lamps with solar batteries for pedestrian