A Conference on CO2 Capture was held for the First Time in Central Asia

Achieving carbon neutrality by 2060 - this was the goal set by the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

As the Head of Nation stated in his Address, there is a need to work in this direction very pragmatically. According to him, the population and economy of our country are growing, and the qualitative growth requires energy.

According to world experts, achieving carbon neutrality does not mean the complete abandonment of coal power. The share of coal-fired power generation will undoubtedly remain. At the same time, the negative impact on the environment will be minimized through the introduction of carbon capture, use and storage technologies (CCUS).

To achieve these goals, the President established the International Green Technologies Center, which facilitates the introduction of green technologies in the country.

Following the global climate agenda, the International Green Technologies Center for the first time organized a Scientific and Practical Conference on the promotion of CCUS technologies in Kazakhstan which took place on March 10, 2022.

More than 200 representatives of the largest Kazakhstani enterprises in the metallurgical, mining, oil and gas, and electric power industries took part in the discussion, including ArcelorMittal, Kazakhmys, Samuryk-Kazyna Group of Companies, Tengizchevroil, etc.

International experts from organizations whose activities are related to the development and implementation of CCUS spoke about the possibilities of implementing CCUS technologies, as well as about its advantages. Among them are ICAP, OECD, the International Energy Agency, Japan CCS, CNPC, the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, etc.

Opening the event, Deputy of the Majilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan Eldos Abakanov stressed the high level of relevance of the topic, as well as the readiness to provide legislative support.

Welcoming the conference participants, Olzhas Agabekov, Director of the Department of Climate Policy and Green Technologies of the Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources, noted the importance of proactive stance of the country's industry to reduce CO2 emissions.

"Studies have shown that the use of CCUS technologies is critical to achieve carbon neutrality. According to the Doctrine of achieving carbon neutrality, the use of CCUS will reduce CO2 emissions in the thermal power generation by 107.6 Mt, in industry by 13.07 Mt, and will also reduce emissions in steel, aluminum, and cement production by 60%, 35%, and 48%, respectively", noted Olzhas Agabekov.

At the same time, Samantha McCulloch, the Head of the CCUS Unit at the International Energy Agency, shared her own view on the promotion and implementation of CCUS technology:

“Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) is the only group of technologies that contributes both to directly reducing emissions in critical economic sectors and to removing CO2 to balance emissions that cannot be avoided… Net zero means we’ll need it”, the speaker added.

Jean-Francois Lengelle, the lead for Central Asia for OECD regional platform SIPA, noted that Kazakhstan is the first state in Central Asia to develop a strategy to achieve carbon neutrality, and expressed the OECD's readiness to assist Kazakhstan in financing and investing in sustainable infrastructure, especially for CCUS projects.

This initiative was also supported by representatives of the Asian Development Bank, as well as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

The Deputy Chairman of the Board of the "International Green Technologies and Investment Projects Center" NJSC Yerlan Tasbayev also noted that such technologies will become competitive in various sectors of the economy and will open new opportunities for Kazakhstan within the global "green" transit.

Following the results of the event, the parties proposed to continue work on the basis of the International Green Technologies Center to study the possibilities of introducing CCUS technologies, as well as to promote and implement such projects in Kazakhstan.