The Republic of Kazakhstan has an enviable “Transition to Green Economy Plan” as a country which has a rapidly growing economy and holds the highest volume of greenhouse gas emission in Central Asia. Green policy was adopted in 2013. Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Kazakhstan determined its goals for 2020, 2030 and 2050 under the titles of;
- Water resources
- Agriculture
- Energy Efficiency
- Electricity Generation
- Air Pollution
- Waste Management
according to three different scenarios. It is targeted to decrease the use of coal-powered plants by 50 percent, and use solar, wind, hydro power and nuclear energy to produce electricity by 2030. The financing need for this transition and change is important. In the “Analysis of Green Economy and Green Policy of Kazakhstan” report, it is stated that “the transition to green economy will increase the GDP by 3 percent and create more than 500 thousand new jobs, there is a need for 3.2 billion USD per year to reach the green goals for 2050, and in 2050 greenhouse gas emissions can be forty percent lower than 2012”.
The Republic of Kazakhstan is the first EBRD country to become a member of the Sustainable Energy Action Plan of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. EBRD has invested in clean energy production and energy efficiency projects. On June 22, 2017 during the Astana Expo 2017 which was held with the “Future Energy” theme, EBRD President Sir Suma Chakrabartini said, “We invested 1.9 billion USD in Kazakhstan’s green energy projects, including energy efficiency”.
Burnoye Solar 1 (50 MW) is the first plant that was commissioned in 2015. EBRD finances the project for increasing the volume of this plant to 100 MW (Burnoye Solar 2). The plant will be the largest one in Central Asia. In addition, Baykonur Solar (50 MW), which is financed by EBRD, is being constructed near the Baykonur Cosmodrome from which the first satellite, first woman and first man were sent to the space. These green investments are the splendid projections of EBRD’s Green Economy Transition (GET) approach.
Such encouraging green investments suit very well to Kazakh Turks, our cognates, who are living in a country with a splendid nature and rich culture. Those lands should always be green as in the verses of Mağcan Cumabayev:
Look at these endless highlands,
Green grass looks like silk blankets,
Water flows lusciously through the fountains
My mother is these glorious mountains.
