President Kassym-Jomart Tokaeyev took part in the opening ceremony of the Abu Dhabi Sustainable Development Week Summit (ADSW) along with other world leaders, QazMonitor reports.
The event was also attended by President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of South Korea Yoon Seok Yeol, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of Angola Joao Lorenzo, Egyptian Foreign Minister and President of the 27th session of the UN Climate Change Conference COP27 Sameh Shoukry, as well as politicians, entrepreneurs, and leaders in the fields of renewable energy, technological development and innovation.
ADSW 2023 is a global initiative promoted by the UAE to support international efforts for sustainable development.
The Summit is the first international forum this year to focus on a wide range of critical topics, including food and water security, energy access, industrial decarbonization, health, and climate adaptation. It will be the first to highlight decarbonization in key industries.
President Tokayev delivered an address highlighting the future of green energy and the measures that each country needs to take.
Almost 70% of electricity in Kazakhstan is generated by coal, according to the president. The country's main task is to facilitate profound structural changes in the industry and economy.
Kazakhstan has made long-term commitments to achieve carbon neutrality. In fact, our country was one of the first to ratify the Paris Agreement. Following this, we have formulated an ambitious but deliberate policy aimed at diversifying the economy and promoting renewable energy and sustainable technologies
He noted that Kazakhstan is the first country in Central Asia to adopt a long-term strategy for achieving carbon neutrality. This strategy determines the best ways to achieve the indicators of contribution to combating climate change, determined at the national level.
"A national cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emissions has already proven to be an effective mechanism for stimulating emission reductions and the development of energy efficiency technology," the president continued.
"Our common goal is to close the gap between the national and European emissions trading systems. All of these measures will ensure that the commitments of the Paris Agreement are met by 2030."
The use of nuclear energy as an important factor in reducing greenhouse gas emissions was highlighted.
Our country ranks first in the world in the extraction of natural uranium. We produce nuclear fuel components domestically and have the appropriate opportunities to further promote the safe use of nuclear energy. In our opinion, this is a very promising area for trade and investment at the regional and global levels
Along with this, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev believes that planting forests is a vital part of the strategy to mitigate climate change.
He noted that Kazakhstan has joined the Declaration on Forests and Land Use adopted at the 26th UN Conference on Climate Change (COP26). The country has launched a major project to plant 2 billion trees by 2025. Last year 282 million trees were planted and this year 410 million more are planned to be planted.
As the seventh largest producer of grain in the world, Kazakhstan also intends to use its agricultural potential to protect global food security.
At the end of his speech, President Tokayev called on all participants of the Summit to actively implement "green" projects, mobilize ESG investments and unite their efforts in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
