Kazakh industrial enterprises switching to best available technologies

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 20

By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:

The optimal terms are envisaged for the industrial enterprises to switch to the use of the best available technologies in Kazakhstan, the Kazakh Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources told Trend.

"The ministry's strategic plan envisages a target indicator on the standard volume of emissions of 4.7 million tons of harmful substances and 2.7 million tons of pollutants," the ministry added.

"In general throughout the country, the target indicator on the standard volume of emissions of harmful substances as of 2019 amounted to 4.3 million tons while the target indicator on the standard volume of discharges of pollutants reached 2.1 million tons," the ministry said.

"In pursuance of strategic planning, the work will be carried out permanently based upon the results of the forecast," the ministry said.

"The road maps have been developed to achieve the target indicators and the memorandums are being concluded with the enterprises," the ministry said. "To date, the ministry has developed the drafts of the Environmental Code and the corresponding law to it."

In accordance with the draft Environmental Code of Kazakhstan, all new enterprises of the first category will have to introduce new technologies based on the issued integrated environmental permits.

"The draft Code has been discussed with business representatives since mid-2018 and the document envisages a "soft transition", the optimal time frame for the transition of industrial enterprises to the best available technologies," the ministry said. "The transition of the existing biggest polluting enterprises in Kazakhstan is proposed to be carried out in stages."

"At the first stage, more than 50 major polluting enterprises are planned to use the best available technologies, for which the first reference books about the technologies based on a comprehensive technological audit will be developed by the end of 2023," the ministry said. "It is planned to issue the integrated environmental permits on the basis of the reference books about the technologies from 2024 through 2025."

"The enterprises will introduce the best available technologies in accordance with the environmental efficiency program over 10 years," the ministry added. "At the same time, the enterprises that have introduced the best available technologies will be exempted from emission fees. If they do not switch to the best available technologies, their emission rates will increase."

"The reference books about the best available technologies on the corresponding spheres of their application will be approved taking into account the experience of the European Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Bureau," the ministry said.

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