Kazakhstan’s Green Push

As countries race to set and meet climate targets, Kazakhstan and its leadership are charting a path toward a greener economy. In line with the Kyoto Protocol of 1997 and the Paris Agreement of 2016, renewable energy development is at the center of Kazakhstan’s plan to address rising carbon emissions and global warming.

One of the world’s largest energy producers, Kazakhstan is demonstrating a strong commitment to progressively move away from traditional fossil fuel sources and implement a new green portfolio, and it is working closely with the OECD and the International Energy Agency. Through policy decisions and investments, the Central Asian country is catching up to global trends and pushing toward establishing renewable energy generation.

Kazakhstan has set goals that require long-term dedication, tangible actions and strategic partnerships, including achieving carbon neutrality by 2060 and reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 15% below 1990 levels by 2030. Another step in this direction is its commitment to add 2.9 GW of onshore wind capacity and 3.1 GW of photovoltaic (PV) capacity between 2023 and 2035. These measures are complemented by efforts to raise the country’s national carbon absorption capacity by planting 2 billion trees by 2025.

In 2022, thermal power represented 86.6% of Kazakhstan’s yearly generation and 80.1% of its installed capacity, with most of this energy coming from low-cost and abundant coal.

In the last year, Kazakhstan established coproduction agreements with leading Japanese and European companies to extract rare-earth elements used in the production of electric cars and other high-tech goods. The country also has a $50 billion investment agreement with Sweden’s Svevind Energy Group for the development of a green hydrogen production and distribution hub in Kazakhstan’s Mangystau Region.

Kazakhstan recently partnered with the European Union on a strategic cooperation agreement for the production of raw materials, renewable hydrogen, wind turbines and batteries for electric vehicles. Their memorandum of understanding, signed in November at COP27 in Egypt, aims to create value chains for renewable hydrogen and batteries to support the green transformation and provide a secure and sustainable supply of raw and processed materials.

Kazakhstan has vast rare-earth metal deposits and significant production capacity. It produces elements including magnesium, vanadium and scandium, and accounts for 42% of the global uranium supply. Two of the most important rare-earth minerals, neodymium and dysprosium, are thought to be abundant in Kazakhstan’s ores; the World Bank estimates that there are over 5,000 unexplored deposits in Kazakhstan, valued at over $46 trillion. These metals are essential to the manufacture of technology products ranging from smartphones and wind turbines to rechargeable electric vehicle batteries, and the country is poised to expand its role as a key global supplier of the rare-earth elements that will power the green revolution.

In November 2022, Kazakhstan signed a deal with French energy conglomerate TotalEnergies to develop, together with the company’s affiliate Total Eren, the largest wind energy project ever built in Kazakhstan. When fully operational, the Mirny project, a 1 GW wind farm with 200 wind turbines and a 600 MWh battery storage system, will be able to supply more than a million people with all their energy needs.

To support these ambitions, on June 8–9, Kazakhstan will host the inaugural Astana International Forum, a global platform for dialogue that will bring together world leaders, academics and business executives to discuss today’s most pressing challenges. This year, the forum is focused on climate change, energy security and the green transition, and its panels will offer in-depth discussions on how to move the relevant industries forward.By exploring these important topics and adopting key reforms in the energy sector, Kazakhstan has the ability to achieve its targets and meet global energy transition standards.