Advancing Climate-Resilient Development in the Caspian Region: Gaps and Strategic Pathways in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan
Advancing Climate-Resilient Development in the Caspian Region: Gaps and Strategic Pathways in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan

Summary/Abstract: This study comparatively analyzes climate policy frameworks in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan, focusing on their alignment with climate-resilient development pathways. Addressing a gap in the literature on post-Soviet energy transitions, it examines how fossil fuel dependency shapes divergences between policy discourse and implementation. Using qualitative content analysis and a structured coding framework covering mitigation, adaptation, enabling conditions, and development integration, the findings reveal that while all three countries demonstrate increasing engagement with global climate commitments, significant implementation gaps persist. Azerbaijan’s renewable energy initiatives and Kazakhstan’s carbon-pricing efforts indicate partial progress, whereas structural economic constraints continue to limit just transition mechanisms and broader policy integration. Turkmenistan faces institutional challenges in advancing methane mitigation and climate governance. The study contributes to the literature by identifying persistent policy–implementation gaps in resource-dependent Caspian economies, offering a comparative framework linking global climate policy models with local socioeconomic constraints, and advancing forward-looking policy recommendations for climate-resilient development.

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