International forum of ASOSAI auditors underway in Astana

The best experts of the Supreme Audit Chamber of Kazakhstan will conduct an environmental state audit in pilot mode next year. According to them, the outcomes of this study will enhance the methodology of green inspections at domestic industrial enterprises, as well as make adjustments to the existing national standards of the Environmental Code. This was announced during the international ASOSAI auditors’ forum in Astana, attended by representatives of relevant chambers and associations from over 16 countries, including Asia and Europe.

“The Supreme Audit Chamber has been working on testing global technology for introducing environmental audits for several years. It holds significant importance for Kazakhstan given the climate change, tougher weather conditions and scarcity of fresh water we are currently witnessing. Therefore, environmental auditing is an area that the Chamber will systematically develop. The forum of the ASOSAI environmental auditing, an international organization of auditors from Asia, is one of the key areas,” Rassul Rakhimov, member of the Supreme Audit Chamber of Kazakhstan, said.

According to experts, Kazakhstan pays special attention to the development of climate policy. Thus, a new Water Code is currently in the works, with plans for its adoption by the end of the year. At the forum, representatives of the Kazakh Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources recalled the international obligations assumed by the country, as part of which large-scale work is carried out to mitigate the risks of air pollution and climate change.

“In February 2023, the Head of State signed a 2060 strategy, according to which Kazakhstan must reduce emissions by 15 percent. What needs to be done for this? It directly involves environmental auditing. Presently, directories of the best available technologies are in the process of development, according to which the 50 companies utilizing natural resources should adopt these best available technologies to reduce emissions into the atmosphere,” said Mansur Oshurbayev, Kazakh Vice Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources.