BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 17
By Nargiz Sadikhova – Trend:
Kazakhstan is taking important measures to pass to a more sustainable development model, the International Green Technologies and Investments Center non-profit joint stock company told Trend on Sept. 17.
The state of the environment remains tense in Kazakhstan despite the general tendencies of reducing the volume of standard emissions of pollutants.
The main strategic document of the country is the ‘Kazakhstan 2050 Strategy: New political course of the established state’.
A strategic goal to become one of the 30 most developed countries in the world by 2050 has been set within the strategy.
In particular, the strategy focuses on the development of environmentally friendly production.
The Concept for Transition of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Green Economy was approved in 2013.
The concept lays the foundations for deep systemic transformation to pass to the economy of a new formation by increasing the welfare, quality of life of the population of Kazakhstan and the country's entry into the 30 most developed countries in the world by minimizing the burden on the environment.
The concept of a "green" economy sets ambitious goals and determines that their achievement will require a big change in the existing trajectory of the development of the economy of Kazakhstan. As a result, the country will be able to restore water and land resources by 2030 and to a large extent equalize the average indicators of the efficiency of natural capital use with the member-states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and other developed countries.
A large-scale revision of environmental legislation was also defined in the Strategic Development Plan of the Republic of Kazakhstan until 2025.
Thus, the Strategic Plan until 2025 envisages the Initiative 5.17.
As part of improving the environmental legislation, the current system of environmental impact assessment will be revised, subsoil users will be stimulated to reduce emissions, the principles of emission regulation will be improved and progressive mechanisms of environmental regulation will be introduced. Kazakhstan’s environmental standards will be revised on the basis of the international experience, technical and economic capabilities.
Moreover, other targeted initiatives aimed at achieving a common goal, namely, improving the environmental situation, such as developing the industry of processing and utilizing solid household waste, introducing the polluter pays principle, introducing integrated environmental permits for the companies, changing the process of assessing the impact of enterprises on environment, active promotion of environmental protection policy have been laid down.
The UN Sustainable Development Goals are accepted as an important benchmark for the implementation of the Strategic Plan until 2025.
The best practices of the OECD countries in the field of environmental protection have been indicated in the draft new edition of the Environmental Code, which will be adopted by the end of this year.
The approximation to the standards of the OECD countries will contribute to solving the environmental problems of Kazakhstan.
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