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Claude Gascon, interim CEO of the GEF and Aziz Abduhakimov, Minister of Environment of the Republic of Uzbekistan, at the closing ceremony of the Eighth GEF Assembly in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Gascon was presented with a traditional Uzbek outfit. Credit: Stella Paul/IPS

By Cecilia Russell
SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan, Jun 5 2026 (IPS)

“While pressures on public budgets are growing and geopolitical tensions rising, it can be tempting to see environmental finance as optional. It is not,” GEF Interim CEO and Chair Claude Gascon told the closing plenary of the Eighth GEF Assembly in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, today.

For developing countries, least developed countries, small island developing states and fragile and vulnerable countries, overseas development aid is the cornerstone.

“Because what is at stake is not only a set of international targets. What is at stake is the future quality of life on this planet. What is at stake is whether children inherit rivers that still run clean, forests that still stand tall, coastlines that still protect communities, and economies that can thrive without destroying the natural systems on which all prosperity depends.”

Assembly chair Aziz Abdukhakimov, Advisor to the President of Uzbekistan on Environment and Chairman, the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change, noted the event had been highly productive with over 50 side events, bilateral meetings, and informal exchanges.

“The GEF council reviewed and improved key decisions, including the GEF-9 programming directions and (the last) GEF-8 work program,” he said, while welcoming a strong focus on integrated programming, innovative financing, and inclusive participation, including the aim to direct at least 20 percent of GEF-9 resources to Indigenous peoples and local communities.

He said that Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s message that Uzbekistan would become a donor country reflected the country’s “commitment to environmental sustainability.

“This shows our readiness not only to benefit from cooperation but also to contribute to global environmental relations,” Abdukhakimov said.

Earlier in a high-level panel discussion, Dr Rosina Bierbaum, Chair of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP) of the GEF, reminded the Assembly that while half of the global GDP depends on nature, there is a “USD 700 billion annual biodiversity financing gap”.

However, she said, an analysis by management consulting firm McKinsey confirms that implementing the 30 by 30 biodiversity goals, aimed at effectively conserving at least 30% of the Earth’s land and oceans by 2030, will generate significant conservation and socioeconomic goals and lift people out of poverty.

While the discussion about funding was coming at a difficult time, Kenneth Lay, Senior Managing Director at RockCreek and former Treasurer of the World Bank, said the good news was that the private sector could help tackle the problems.

Detailing how the global savings pool has grown dramatically “driven by 15 years of exceptional markets”, he said there were trillions of dollars available in pension and sovereign wealth funds, insurance sector reserves, and others, and these funds could become available to invest in nature, but “asset owners were not in the room”.

Lay suggested that the GEF convene the players who run central banks, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and securities regulators among others and ensure that “investing in nature is as natural as investing in infrastructure.” Ensure that investing in nature is as natural as investing in infrastructure.

Valerie Hickey, Director, Environment, World Bank Group, said the GEF had a role to play in building enabling regulations and policy predictability to help the private sector manage risk – with a focus on what she called the ‘Goldilocks’ blend of concessional and commercial finance to cushion investment failures while ensuring the investment has commercial returns and is financially solid enough to unlock private capital that has “measurable environmental outcomes.”

There were warnings too.

Rachel Kyte, Special Representative for Climate, United Kingdom, warned that a study showed her country was “highly vulnerable to ecosystem collapse.

“What does that mean? It means that for a British family, their ability to fill their supermarket trolley with the things they need to keep their children healthy is entirely linked to the integrity of the Congo Basin. And that if anything were to further threaten it, there would be security and defence implications.”

Getting local communities and Indigenous people involved through people-centred, inclusive, and economically viable solutions was key, Joyelle Clarke, Minister of Sustainable Development and Environment, Climate Action and Constituency Empowerment, Saint Kitts and Nevis, said. She explained how the blue carbon market was underappreciated and often hard to grasp.

Clarke gave an example of a UNESCO world heritage site that conserves turtles – in an area where the fishing community’s diet included turtles. By offering alternative job opportunities in the tourist industry, they were able to garner the community’s support for the site.

Leaders and delegates from the Uzbek government and the GEF pose for a group photo at the conclusion of the Eighth GEF Assembly in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Credit: Stella Paul/IPS

Gascon reminded the plenary that the environment was not a “side issue”.

“First, we must defend and strengthen continued public development assistance for countries… Continued public ODA is therefore not only a moral commitment. It is an investment in global stability, in human security, and in the shared future of all nations.”

Then, he said “countries need to align national policies with the environmental outcomes they seek. We cannot say we are committed to sustainability while still rewarding the destruction of ecosystems, the overuse of natural resources, or the pollution of air, land, and water.”

Third, the GEF should unlock the full power of private capital and ensure that the private sector becomes “not just a source of finance but a true partner in governance and delivery of global environmental outcomes”.

And finally, “cabinet-wide commitment and society-wide participation” were needed for the environment goals to be achieved.

“We need national leadership, but we also need local ownership. That means listening to and working with communities, Indigenous Peoples, women, youth, civil society, scientists, local authorities, farmers, workers, and entrepreneurs. It means recognising that durable solutions are not imposed – they are built together.”

Finally, Gascon said the final push to 2030 “must be more than a countdown. It must be a turning point.”

Note: The Eighth Global Environment Facility Assembly held its final plenary today, June 6, 2026, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

This feature is published with the support of the GEF. IPS is solely responsible for the editorial content, and it does not necessarily reflect the views of the GEF.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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The Chinese tiltrotor that broke cover last year was recently captured in images during what appears to be more expansive test flights.

China’s first manned tiltrotor aircraft has now appeared in clearer images while in flight, nearly a year after it was captured off a screen while hovering at the beginning of testing. Visuals from Chinese social media shared by leading Chinese military aviation researcher Andreas Rupprecht and other users on X showed the helicopter in various angles from its port (left) side.

We noted in our previous report in August 2025 that the first picture appeared to show the tiltrotor in what appeared to be an engine start-up, lift off and hover test. No visuals existed at the time showing it in full flight.

Via ACuriousPLAFan/SDF:

„Said to be different shots of the tiltrotor technological demonstrator platform from Harbin AC, likely taken during its recent test flight. Posted by @数性体 on Weibo.“ pic.twitter.com/tAOwUfrHY4

— @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) June 1, 2026

What the new image shows

Both the panel and the rotor hub, previously missing, can now be seen in the latest images, in what could be a test flight in more expansive envelopes. It is not clear when the latest flight captured in the new images took place, and it may have happened anytime after the first images emerged in August 2025 – or possibly even recently – before leaking on the internet.

A notable feature we observed back then was the tiltrotor’s moving prop-rotor configuration, similar to that of the MV-75 Cheyenne II, marking a full departure from the V-22 Osprey and Leonardo AW609 in which the entire engine nacelle pivots. The system is notably simpler in operation with less complex engineering and consequently simpler maintenance and improved safety.

Seems as if finally an image and video (see link) of Harbin’s / HAIG’s) tiltrotor technology demonstrator in flight has been leaked. https://t.co/JI4bKLPOqs pic.twitter.com/JzzWvFHyVZ

— @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) May 31, 2026

Both the images also did not show a flight data probe (pitot) tube on the nose, or registration markings anywhere on the fuselage or the tail. This leaves open the question on how many prototypes have been produced by Hafei Aviation Industry, a subsidiary of Harbin Aircraft Industry Group (HAIG).

There is no official information on the aircraft on any of the state media like Global Times, Xinhua or China Daily. The only tilt-rotor reported in the Chinese press was by GT in July 2025, featuring a smaller tiltrotor, an eVTOL (electric Vertical Take-Off Landing) called AE200 by Chinese company Aerofugia, on the sidelines of the inaugural International Advanced Air Mobility Expo at Shanghai.

Janes also reported in February 2024 about the unmanned UR/R6000 tiltrotor, which appeared in a clearer image inside its developer United Aircraft’s factory a few months later in October. Both the AE200 and the R6000 also have pivoting prop-rotor hubs, suggesting how China has closely watched and incorporated the American experience with the type.

We are far from knowing whether the three aircraft have a military future, until images emerge of the aircraft in PLA military colors, markings or at one its bases.

联合飞机(united aircraft)の世界初となる6t級ティルトローターUAV”镧影R6000″1号機が芜湖航空产业园にて生産された。
R6000は旅客の場合10人の乗客を乗せ、最大離陸重量6t、最大巡航速度550km、最大巡航高度7620m、航続距離4000kmを発揮する。
同機は今年の珠海航展にて展示されると言われている。 https://t.co/c89ETG1Ihf pic.twitter.com/Fl3ft0cqgI

— お砂糖wsnbn (@sugar_wsnbn) October 14, 2024

The tilt-rotor in question particularly has two access doors and, with the six windows, suggests a seating capacity of anywhere between six to 12 persons. It is also admittedly small in size for military use, necessitating larger engines and a bigger airframe.

If adopted by the PLA, like the Ekranoplan, it can rapidly move men and material to China’s outposts in the South China Sea (SCS). However, the need for such a capability is not acute, given China’s current naval aviation, surface fleet and merchant marine fleet.

Other helicopters and future

From a commercial standpoint, the developers wouldn’t have invested in the tiltrotors until they had a market within China, to feed its growing urban mobility, air taxi, emergency services and connecting remote mountainous regions. As we noted in our previous report, the tilt-rotor could be marketed internationally for civilian use by corporations, as a cheaper alternative to Western systems, with a target being the offshore oil and gas sector.

Apparently we’ve got the clearest image of the Z-21, China’s new heavy attack helicopter so far.
However, besides some details that are now finally clearly recognisable, such as sensors, cockpit, rotor, & the engine nacelles including exhausts, some details also appear strange… pic.twitter.com/CG5FoTDr2d

— @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) March 20, 2026

Politically, fielding such an aircraft also displays China’s technological prowess in developing the full range of fighter aircraft, space technology, warships, missiles and aircraft carriers to rival the West.

IMO one of the best Images of the Z-21 so far. pic.twitter.com/kKyILXHevM

— @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) November 30, 2025

Lastly, China’s heavy-class attack helicopter, the Z-21, has also made some appearance since late last year, with the latest image shared by Rupprecht on Mar. 20 showing it in sharpest and clearest detail yet. The aircraft is bearing a PLA roundel marking on its tail boom, and also appears to be carrying quad-launchers for air-to-surface missiles.

As it seems, for the first time a Z-21 in white primer was seen.

(Via yuxiaochen/SDF) pic.twitter.com/RfhGoIofAd

— @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) December 23, 2025

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