A delegation from the University of Central Asia (UCA), led by Acting Rector, Professor Christopher Gerry visited the Republic of Kazakhstan in the period from April 8th to 10th, 2024. The visit started from the World Bank office (Almaty), where a discussion on the climate agenda in Central Asia took place with the participation of UCA delegation, Indu John-Abraham, the World Bank Operations Manager at the Central Asia Regional Office, experts from the European Forest Institute (Dr. Georgi Safonov, Helsinki), NEAH (Dr. Maria Stepanova, Cyprus) and Green Academy (Dr. Bakhyt Yessekina, Kazakhstan).

The second day of the visit was devoted to meetings with the Department of Multilateral Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Managing Director for the EBRD in Central Asia, Zsuzsanna Hargitay, the Vice-Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, Mansur Oshurbaev, the climate focal point from the British Embassy in Astana, Kirri Hendricks, the Minister of Science and Higher Education, Sayassat Nurbek.

During the meetings UCA presented its innovative climate related bachelor’s, master’s and certificate programmes, its leading-edge research agenda in environmental management and climate science. An update was also provided on the University’s practical initiatives, including its NetZero strategy aimed at reducing its carbon footprint by 30% by 2027.

Agreements were reached on cooperation between the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the University of Central Asia and the Green Academy to continue their collaboration in promoting the climate agenda for Central Asia, supporting the establishment of a regional office under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and in advancing research on the impact of climate change on sustainable development in the mountainous areas and less developed regions of Kazakhstan and Central Asia.

email: info@green-academy.kz