• Astana, Kazakhstan 

By Derya Soysal, reporting from the Astana International Forum

During the Astana International Forum (AIF), Zulfiya Suleimenova, Special Representative of the President of Kazakhstan on Climate and Environmental Issues, spoke to us in an exclusive interview about the country’s evolving climate policy, energy transition plans, and international cooperation.

From shifting away from coal through the development of nuclear energy to building stronger ties with the European Union and proposing regional food security hubs, Suleimenova detailed how Kazakhstan is navigating the complex intersection of climate resilience, economic development, and environmental justice. “We don’t really want to leave anyone behind,” she emphasized, as the country sets out to implement what it calls a just and inclusive energy transition.

Kazakhstan is emerging as a proactive player in global environmental cooperation, with a bold agenda driven by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Zulfiya Suleimenova, Advisor to the President and his Special Representative on International Environmental Cooperation, shared in a recent discussion how the Central Asian nation is putting climate and ecological priorities front and center.

“One of the very first decisions that President Tokayev made back in 2019, when he just became President, was to re-establish the Ministry of Ecology,” Suleimenova recalled. “Unfortunately, we didn’t have this agency for several years, and that was one of his very first decisions.”

Since then, environmental policy has become a pillar of the Tokayev administration. Kazakhstan’s leadership was on full display at COP29, where President Tokayev was the first head of state to speak at the World Leaders’ Summit. “Because our President is very active on climate and environmental issues, he attended COP29,” said Suleimenova. “My job is to make sure that his initiatives and vision on environment and climate get implemented and become a reality for us.”

Among the President’s most ambitious proposals is a Regional Ecological Summit, slated for next year in Astana. The Kazakh capital is set to host the Regional Climate Summit 2026 (RCS 2026), a landmark event aimed at boosting regional cooperation on climate change. 

“We are planning to host [it] in partnership with the United Nations and other international organizations,” Suleimenova said. “The idea of this summit is not just to bring the leaders together, but also to have them endorse joint approaches to addressing environmental issues and the triple planetary crisis.”

This holistic view extends to biodiversity. President Tokayev recently announced the establishment of an International Fund for Biodiversity Conservation, a project he will personally lead.

The Fund aims to create a mechanism for financing projects aimed at preserving the biological diversity of Kazakhstan.

 Suleimenova has been directly involved on the ground: “I was part of a scientific expedition of the Institute of Hydrobiology and Ecology. Not many people know, but in the Caspian Sea, we have Caspian seals, which are the least researched in the world among the seals.”

President Tokayev has called on Caspian littoral states to intensify cooperation: “He said that we should be promoting environmental monitoring and data exchange in the Caspian Sea.” Kazakhstan has designated its portion of the Caspian as a protected area, with a marine reserve specifically for the Caspian seals. According to Suleimenova, “Our environmental regulation on the Kazakhstan portion of the Caspian Sea is the strictest.”

To strengthen regional science and policy, Kazakhstan has launched a new Caspian Institute, tasked with research on climate, biodiversity, and sustainable development of the region. “We are, in a way, rethinking the way how we see the sea and how we want these regions to move forward,” Suleimenova emphasized.

Kazakhstan was the first country in the developing world to establish a national Emissions Trading System (ETS), introduced in 2013. Still, concerns remain about the effectiveness and pricing. “The carbon price in Kazakhstan is indeed low,” Suleimenovaacknowledged, but added, “We were the second ones in the world after the EU to establish an emissions trading system.”

The country is now modernizing this system. “We just launched a new project called Partnership for Market Implementation in partnership with the World Bank,” she said. The program aims to move away from free quotas toward auctioning, introduce more robust benchmarking, and improve transparency and verification mechanisms.

“In the future, we will gradually start integrating new gases, new installations, and new industries,” she said. “Once we have better mechanisms and better transparency, we believe the price will gradually be going up.”

Kazakhstan remains firm in its international climate commitments, despite global uncertainties. “We have committed to reducing our carbon emissions by 15% by 2030 and 25% by 2030 contingent to additional international support and technology transfer,” said Suleimenova. “By 2060, we have established a goal of reaching carbon neutrality.”

Over 80% of the country’s emissions come from the energy sector, making decarbonization of energy infrastructure the cornerstone of the climate transition roadmap.

For Suleimenova, the work is deeply personal as well as political. “My job is to basically translate the President’s vision into action,” she said. “But also see what is happening on the ground and give advice on how we can be more efficient.”

As the country prepares to host the upcoming Regional Ecological Summit and leads with new science-driven institutions, Kazakhstan is positioning itself not just as a responsible regional actor, but as a climate leader on the global stage.

The debate on Nuclear energy started in Kazakhstan. “Carbon neutrality is efficiently energy transition,” said Suleimenova. “So we need to rethink the way we are doing the energy sector and the using of combustible sources of energy in our energy system.”

Kazakhstan aims to reach 15% renewable energy in its mix by 2030 and is currently at 6.5%. “We are very well on track actually,” she noted. The government has taken active measures to support this growth through auctions and by “de-risking” investments in renewables. 

In a bid to offer stability to investors, Kazakhstan has introduced five-year planning cycles for renewable energy auctions. However, the transition from coal remains a critical challenge. “There is a question about the base load capacity and how to transition away from using coal, because Kazakhstan mainly uses coal,” she admitted.

This reality prompted a national referendum in October 2023 on nuclear energy. “As President [Tokayev] noted in his speech, we produce over 40% of global uranium,” Suleimenova reminded. “Given that nuclear power is one of the low-carbon options in terms of energy and is a stable energy source, it would not be a very wise decision not to look into the nuclear.”

Following public approval, Kazakhstan has now established a new agency for nuclear energy development and is considering the construction of up to three nuclear power plants. “We believe that through developing this nuclear energy, it will help us to decarbonise our energy sector and energy footprint.”

To ensure inclusiveness, Kazakhstan is developing its own Just Energy Transition Platform, working closely with international financial institutions. “The Executive Director of the Green Climate Fund also visited Kazakhstan just a few days ago,” Suleimenova revealed. 

As announced by President Tokayev, the JETP is a comprehensive framework that encompasses several key goals including increasing Kazakhstan’s production and export of critical minerals, investing in renewable energy technologies, and co-operating with international partners to develop new supply chains.

Partnership with the EU: Critical Minerals and Clean Tech

Kazakhstan’s climate agenda is closely linked to international cooperation, particularly with the European Union. “The EU is one of our very important trade partners,” she said. A key area of collaboration is on rare earth and critical minerals. “We have a memorandum with the European Union on sustainable production of the critical minerals.”

“To produce more of the clean tech, you need more access to critical minerals,” Suleimenova explained, adding that Kazakhstan is not only a producer but also possesses the infrastructure, human capital, and expertise to support downstream production. “We are very much looking forward to working with the EU not just on exporting, but on building full production cycles.“

In conclusion, she highlighted the urgency of Food security.. “by 2040, the production of the food may drop. “This is going to impact global food prices and global food security,” she warned. President Tokayev has proposed a regional food security hub in Almaty to house food stockpiles for emergencies. “We would be very willing to host a regional hub on food security in Almaty,” she confirmed. “My country, as the world’s seventh largest grain producer, is the breadbasket of Central Asia,” Tokayev said in his speech addressing the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Kazakhstan boasts vast agricultural lands, covering approximately 202 million hectares, or 74 percent of the country’s land, making it one of the world’s largest countries by agricultural land area. The country’s favorable geography and varied climate create a conducive environment for grain cultivation.

Kazakhstan also hosts the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s Centre on Food Security, reinforcing its regional leadership. “We are promoting the food security issue not just in this smaller region, but beyond that,” Suleimenova noted.

The Astana International Forum, she concluded, is the right place for Kazakhstan to connect ideas and forge solutions. “Because alone, while we as Kazakhstan are promoting different solutions, it requires partnerships and cooperation.”

Bibliography

Kazakhstan Ready to Become Regional Food Supply Hub: President – Caspian News

Kazakhstan’s Pivotal Role in the Global Energy Transition: A Look at President Tokayev’s JETP Initiative at COP28 – London Globe

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