The extraordinary climate
situation is a massive crisis, and only collective actions will help resolve it
and halt global warming. Today, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev spoke at
the World Climate Action Summit in Dubai. Kazakhstan is now among the active
participants in the climate dialogue. The country was the first in Central Asia
to ratify the Paris Agreement and adopt the Strategy to achieve carbon
neutrality by 2060. Kazakhstan has great potential for the development of wind
and solar energy and certainly for the production of green hydrogen. Besides, the
country is ready to become a primary supplier of these rare-earth minerals,
which will play a crucial role in the world’s decarbonization efforts.
“I’m pleased to announce today
that Kazakhstan has decided to join the Global Methane Pledge. At the same
time, we are eager to tackle the enormous challenge of coal in our region by
implementing our region’s first-ever Just Energy Transition Partnership in
Kazakhstan. For both of these to succeed we look to our friends and partners
for their concrete support,” said the Head of State.
Nevertheless, the solution to climate problems
must be comprehensive. Increased funding for special programs alone will
not resolve them. Kazakh President highlighted that the rise in global
temperature is particularly perilous for Central Asia. An increase of 1.5
degrees Celsius above the global temperature means an additional degree for the
countries in the region. This would lead to water shortages and
desertification. President Tokayev urged the international community to
allocate more funds to support the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS),
which will be chaired by Kazakhstan next year. Moreover, the country will
co-chair the first thematic One Water Summit on the sidelines of the next
session of the UN General Assembly along with France. The Head of State also
invited participating states to the Astana International Forum (AIF), slated
for June 2024. It can serve as a dialogue platform to continue targeted
cooperation on climate-related issues, President Tokayev emphasized. Another
initiative from Kazakhstan is to convene a Regional Climate Summit in the
country in 2026 under the UN auspices, which will give impetus to climate
protection actions in Central Asia.
