Kazakhstan Takes Action in the Fight Against Climate Change
The annual UN Climate Change Conference, COP 29, was held this year for the first time in a former Soviet Union country, Azerbaijan. The issue of climate change I s more critical than ever. According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, 2024 was the hottest year on record, with the average global temperature exceeding 1.5°C for the first time since the pre-industrial era.
Conference participants agreed that wealthy countries would commit to investing at least $300 billion annually to help developing nations combat climate change, increasing this amount to $1.3 trillion by 2035. Nearly 200 countries that signed the Paris Agreement are now preparing updated national targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
On the sidelines of COP 29, several panel discussions took place featuring representatives from Kazakhstan, the largest economy in Central Asia. Kazakhstan reaffirmed its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 15% by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. Country officials highlighted that Central Asia, landlocked within the Eurasian continent, is highly vulnerable to climate change. This year, the north-east of Kazakhstan experienced extensive flooding, while the south-west continues to combat desertification in the dried-up areas of the Aral Sea.
Kazakhstan supplies over 40% of the world’s uranium and plays a significant role in the development of low-carbon nuclear energy. The country is actively building solar and wind power plants with the support of foreign investors to reduce its dependence on hydrocarbons. Additionally, with 200 million hectares of agricultural land, Kazakhstan is preparing to adopt carbon farming, agricultural methods that reduce emissions and improve soil quality.
Narxoz University, supported by the renowned entrepreneur and philanthropist Bulat Utemuratov, is one of the pioneers in advancing Kazakhstan’s sustainable development agenda and combating climate change. Narxoz established one of Central Asia’s leading research institutes on sustainability, the Sustainable Kazakhstan Research Institute (SKRI), whose mission is to support Kazakhstan in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Brendan Duprey, Director of SKRI, is leading several nature-based and climate projects, including the planting of trees around mining sites to capture dust and carbon emissions. Using computer modelling, the projects are achieving optimal results, reducing air pollution by up to 40%. Trees are also being planted around the university campus in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, which suffers from significant air pollution.
An important aspect of SKRI’s work is integrating sustainable development into the curriculum of Kazakhstani universities and schools. This initiative is being implemented in collaboration with the UN’s Principles for Responsible Management Education Network (PRME) that Narxoz University co-chairs for the Eurasian region In cooperation with international partners, including the PRME Network, the SKRI developed policy recommendations for governments of Eurasia on integrating SDGs into high education curricula.
These recommendations were fed into ongoing climate negotiations and published online by the United Nations Global Compact which is a pact to get businesses and firms worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies. Similar projects in other Central Asian countries were discussed at Kazakhstan’s pavilion at COP 29. SKRI’s initiative to include sustainable development in school education, in partnership with the National Academy of Education, was nominated for the UNESCO-Japan Prize on Education for Sustainable Development.
