Kazakhstan addresses the climate change challenge

As the largest country in Central Asia, Kazakhstan has not been spared the effects of climate change which are impacting the whole region, prompting the country to make plans to address environmental issues and move away from fossil fuels.

Kazakhstan generates more than 70% of its electricity from its abundant coal resources, which is among the cheapest to produce in the world, but the country has big green ambitions to move away from its dependency on fossil fuels. 

“At the moment, the majority of our electricity comes from coal-fired power plants,” Kazakhstan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vassilenko told a press conference attended by Euractiv in Astana, adding that Kazakhstan’s current share of renewable energy is 5%.

According to Vassilenko, one of Kazakhstan’s main priorities is to develop low-carbon technologies, which will require an estimated $600 billion in investment to reach 50% renewable energy by 2030 gradually and then carbon neutrality by 2060.

“In terms of environment, our goal is to be carbon neutral by 2060. This is ten years later than the European Union, but we think it is a realistic time for us to strive for this goal,” he added.

As such, coal-rich Kazakhstan already started investing in renewable energies, namely in wind and solar energies. 

“Kazakhstan is almost as big as the EU, and in some parts, sun and wind is all there is, so why not use this potential? ” a diplomatic source told Euractiv.

Recent wind energy projects include commissioning the 50 MW Stepnogorsk wind farm in northwest Kazakhstan and the development of the 100 MW Karatau wind farm project in southern Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan has set ambitious objectives regarding solar energy, aiming to reach 3 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity by 2030. Recent projects include completing the 100 megawatt (MW) Nura solar power plant in 2023 and the ongoing construction of the 100 MW Baykonur solar power plant.

Global warming risks

Central Asian countries are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, and Kazakhstan is no exception as intense heat waves, droughts, heavy rains, and other extreme weather events are becoming major environmental, economic, and social problems. 

According to a World Bank report, temperatures in Kazakhstan are projected to rise faster than the global average and most other Asian countries, with a potential warming of 5.3°C by the 2090s, a risk that is increasingly being considered by citizens and lawmakers alike.

“The rising cost of life leads to some reflection, to deal not only with wages and pensions but also with the environment”, declared Aidos Sarym, secretary of the Committee on International Affairs, Defence and Security of the Lower House of the Kazakh Parliament.

According to him, there is a growing demand to create a green economy and to engage in ecology, especially “among the younger generation, who have already grown up with modern values, modern cinema and modern interests”. 

Global warming poses significant water challenges in Central Asia, with melting glaciers, changing precipitation patterns, and increased competition for water resources becoming key issues, a diplomatic source told Euractiv. 

Water stress, drought risks, and impacts on agriculture and ecosystems are growing concerns that will require regional cooperation and sustainable water management to avoid future large-scale water-related conflicts in the region. 

Geopolitics of water

Central Asia has significant water resources that are unevenly distributed and is now facing growing tensions over access to water.

The dissolution of the Soviet Union disrupted the water-energy exchange between upstream (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan) and downstream (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan) countries, leading to conflicts.

The region has experienced several tensions over using existing water infrastructure, such as the floods in southern Kazakhstan in the winter of 2003.

Kazakhstan then failed to deliver coal to upstream Kyrgyzstan, which had to release water from the Toktogul dam to generate electricity, causing massive flooding in downstream Kazakhstan and prompting an emergency meeting between the two countries presidents.

“I won’t name specific countries, but all of this could deteriorate to the point where not just serious confrontation, but even wars could be the result.”, then-Uzbek President Karimov declared in 2012, following another flare-up of tensions over the development of a Kyrgyz-Tajik dam project that he believed would endanger Uzbekistan’s vital cotton fields.

Today, more than ever, this issue is at the forefront of regional cooperation policies.

“We have to reckon with each other and sometimes even with the whims and fancies of some of our neighbours”, Sarym said, adding, however, that “the responsibility for moving things in the right direction lies with us.”

According to him, there is a need to create a water and energy consortium to understand how much water the region’s countries have and how it can be better.

“It all starts with accounting—a good environmental audit. Then understanding how much water we need”, Sarym said, calling for each country to specialise based on its natural resources to avoid wasting precious water.

” This race for the sake of the race threatens us,” he concluded.

[Edited by Alice Taylor]

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