BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 26. Kazakhstan, the first Central Asian country to sign Paris Agreement [international treaty on climate change], is committed to reaching carbon neutrality of its power sector by 2060 and thus sets the trend for the rest of the region, Anton Usov, EBRD Chief Spokesman, told Trend.
Referring to Kazakhstan's efforts to become a green energy-producing country in Central Asia, the EBRD representative noted that the most recent and notable undertaking in this regard is the adoption of a Long-term decarbonization strategy (LTS).
"The EBRD, as an undisputed leader among the international community in supporting the country on its green pathway, has been extensively engaged in strengthening the LTS to get it closely aligned with the Paris Agreement," he said.
He noted that the bank was instrumental in establishing the renewable energy sector in Kazakhstan.
"In the context of its two Kazakhstan Renewable Frameworks our bank invested around $600 million in renewable energy projects and is responsible for the creation of 800 MW installed capacity (about 40 percent of total renewable capacity) since 2015," he said.
Furthermore, Usov went on to add that in implementing investment projects, the EBRD brings extensive multi-pronged policy engagement on country, sector and city levels, offering a holistic approach to Kazakhstan’s energy transition.
"On a country level, the EBRD worked with Kazakhstan authorities to help adopt aforementioned LTS. Namely, the EBRD endorsed the inclusion of measures to reach Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC or greenhouse gas emission) targets of 15 percent (or 25 percent in case of available financing from climate funds) into LTS. Such steps include the adoption and adherence to Low Carbon Pathways in different industries and advancing of Emission Trading Systems," he said.
On a sector level, Anton Usov said, the EBRD and USAID were instrumental in driving the energy sector Low Carbon Pathway (LCP), which was endorsed by the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan, forward. According to him, LCP entails specific steps for Kazakhstan’s energy sector to reach the net zero target.
Kazakhstan's great efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 are due to the high level of pollution in the country. According to the World Health Organisation's calculations, air pollution is the greatest health risk for people in Kazakhstan’s biggest city: particulate concentrations there exceed safe limits 17-fold in winter.