Kazakhstan may become a guide for the entire Central Asian region in the transition to a cleaner and more sustainable energy system. The country’s vision to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 is supported today by foreign experts. As noted by the speaker of the Astana International Forum, NNWI Chairman Tim Yeo, the main flagship of the current energy policy of all countries is climate change. The entire international community is concerned about the consequent negative effects on the environment. This includes an increase in air temperature, abnormal natural disasters, as well as disruption of hydrological regimes. In addition, experts note that new approaches in energy policy for countries, in particular for Kazakhstan, are necessary in order to significantly reduce energy shortages. According to experts, the shortage of electric power in the country will be three gigawatts by 2029. The AIF platform is a unique opportunity to discuss these and other current global issues on an international scale and find new approaches to their solution.
“The forum is an opportunity for people to see what is going on not just in Astana, Kazakhstan, but in the whole Central Asia region. I think that also big decisions are being made around the world right now, particularly in the energy industry. We all face a big challenge from the climate change which may make part of the world very difficult to live in. Hence, we need to address that by moving to a cleaner energy system. This region has an enormous role in the energy industry. It is a big producer of coal and gas; and of course, Kazakhstan is great in terms of uranium. Thus, what happens here will have an effect, which goes much wider than just this region,” said Tim Yeo, AIF speaker and Chairman of the New Nuclear Watch Institute in the UK.
“I think Astana International Forum is a platform for discussion of some global problems. We have some questions of global importance, like carbon neutrality and water preservation that will be discussed here today. This a very important platform,” noted Alexandra Ackerman, international expert and AIF participant.
