8 Nov 2022 12:38

Kazakhstan ready to become regional center for renewable energy development - PM

ASTANA. Nov 8 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan is ready to become a regional center for renewable energy development and stimulate transition of Central Asia to green technologies, Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov said.

"Kazakhstan has the potential to become one of the world's green energy centers. Therefore we are ready to act as a regional center for development of renewable energy sources and in general to stimulate the transition of Central Asia to green technologies," he said at the 27th UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

In the context of renewable energy development, Kazakhstan will increase the production and exports of green hydrogen, according to Smailov.

Alikhan Smailov reiterated Kazakhstan's firm and unwavering commitment to the goals and objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement.

"Our country has set an ambitious goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. To this end, we plan to adopt a Low Carbon Development Strategy by the end of the year. This will be a historic moment: for the first time in Central Asia, a country is adopting such an ambitious document," Smailov said.

Today green energy accounts for about 3% of Kazakhstan's total power output. At the same time, the republic plans to increase its output to 15% by 2030, adding 7 GW of green power by 2030. Kazakhstan also intends to reduce carbon emissions by at least 15% by 2030, according to the prime minister.

"I would like to highlight the importance of technological modernization, in particular the need to introduce knowledge sharing and transfer of "clean" technologies, including within the framework of the Paris Agreement," Smailov said.

In addition, the Kazakh government is taking measures to stimulate green investment and is ready to offer the Astana International Financial Centre as a unique regional investment center for "green" finance.

"We are also making significant efforts under the new Environmental Code and are implementing the ambitious goal of planting 2 billion trees by 2025," Smailov said.