Side event “POTENTIAL AND STANDARDS FOR LOW-CARBON DEVELOPMENT IN CENTRAL ASIA” was held at the Pavilion of the Regional Environmental Center of Central Asia on December 1, 2023 during the COP-28 in Dubai. The event was organized by the Scientific and Research Center “Green Academy” in cooperation with the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan with the support of the EBRD and the OECD SIPA project. The event was organized to discuss international mechanisms and standards for carbon regulation and deep decarbonization.
The session was opened with a welcoming speech by the Deputy Chairman of the Board of National Company JSC «KazMunayGas» Serikkali Brekeshev, Chairman of the Presidium of the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs «Atameken» Raimbek Batalov, SIPA OECD Project Manager Pelin Atamer.
The moderator of the session was the Member of the Council on Green Economy under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, CEO of the «Green Academy» REC Dr. Bakhyt Yessekina. She gave the floor to international experts in the field of carbon regulation: Dr. Henry Weissman, CEO of the Institute for Sustainable Development (IDDRI, France), who presented the results of research on the development of strategies for deep decarbonization of national economies; Daniel Pernigotti, Founder of the Global Carbon Alliance, CEO of Aequilibria (Italy), who presented the draft standard ISO 14068 – Carbon neutrality; and Aigul Magazova – an international expert in the field of carbon market, who presented the draft standard of the first national standard “Greenhouse Gases. Requirements for certification of experts in the field of validation and verification.”
Following experts were involved in discussion: Director of the EBRD Climate Policy and Regional Cooperation Department Jan William Van de Ven, UNFCCC expert Dr. Alexey Kokorin (Russia), Member of the Public Chamber of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan Dr. Aizhan Skakova, Chairman of the Council for Sustainable Development and ESG of National Chamber of Entrepreneurs «Atameken» Yulia Yakupbaeva, CEO of the ESGQ Agency Dr. Yerlik Karazhan. They noted the importance of issues and mechanisms for improving climate regulation, including the integration of ESG standards and principles into the processes of corporate governance of the real sector of the economy of Kazakhstan. At the end of the session, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the “Green Academy” REC and the Aequilibria (Italy) on research of international carbon standards and expert certification.
The event was attended in a hybrid format by COP-28 delegates, experts from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Mongolia, representatives of international organizations, think tanks, businesses and NGOs.
