Abstract
As an increasing number of countries engage in environmental protection efforts, it becomes important to assess how effectively these efforts are implemented. This study draws on country-level data and materials from Central Asia and employs a descriptive comparative approach to conduct a cross-country analysis of five countries: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Tajikistan. The five countries show modest but limited improvements in their levels of sustainable development. At the environmental level, this study constructs a CO₂ index based on CO₂ emission intensity. The results show that the emission intensity of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan has declined overall, indicating improvements in environmental performance, whereas the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan have achieved relatively limited emission-reduction outcomes. At the same time, the annual standard deviation of the CO₂ Index indicates that environmental performance among Central Asian countries has exhibited a gradually diverging trend. Based on these findings, this study analyzes the drivers of differences in environmental performance from the perspectives of supply-side energy structure, demand-side heating patterns, and the level of economic development. Although all Central Asian countries have committed to reducing emissions, they continue to face substantial challenges. In particular, the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan may benefit from drawing on relevant experiences from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. Keywords: Environmental Performance, Central Asia, Energy Supply, Energy Demand, Economic Development