Kazakh Government and UNDP present Eighth National Communication under UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
According to the 2019 Notre Dame-Global Adaptation Index (ND-GAIN), Kazakhstan ranked 40th in climate change adaptation among 177 countries. Along with that, in 2021 the total national greenhouse gas emissions including the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry sector of the LULUCF were 340837.32 tons of CO2eq (excluding - 338123.36 tons of CO2eq) and decreased by 10.35% and 12.56% respectively compared to the base year of 1990, Kazinform reports quoting the press service of UNDP in Kazakhstan.
In order to prevent climate change, Kazakhstan has committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and has ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement. In 2023, the Strategy to Achieve Carbon Neutrality by 2060 was adopted, as well as an updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) through 2030.
The Eighth National Communication and the Fifth Biennial Report is a document that compiles and systematizes all information about climate change and its impacts on climate-dependent economic sectors, policies and measures proposed to adapt and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the country, according to internationally available guidance. The document also provides an analysis of the implementation of policies and measures in key sectors of the economy mainly for the period from 2017 to 2020, forecast scenarios for the development of sectors until 2035 using modeling tools. You can read the full document on the UNFCCC website.
«The currently ongoing Eighth National Communication project is a crucial step in facilitating the collection of climate data, supporting the country's expertise and participation in climate negotiations. At the same time, in addition to the analysis of the main climate-dependent economic sectors, the current issue added data on the tourism development sector and the role of gender in climate change processes,» said Kumar Kylychev, Head of Energy and Environment Department, UNDP Kazakhstan.
The document was prepared by experts of the United Nations Development Programme in Kazakhstan, the Department of Climate Policy and Green Technologies of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Zhasyl Damu JSC, Kazgidromet RSE, Astana Scientific Center, Nazarbayev University, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, as well as independent experts.
«Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) effort has been made that calls for a 15 percent reduction in emissions by 2030 from 1990 levels and a 25 percent reduction with additional international support. The updated nationally determined inputs include equally important climate change adaptation issues to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, within the framework of the Environmental Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, we started implementing the process of adaptation to climate change in four most vulnerable sectors - water resources, agriculture, forestry and disaster risk reduction,» said Dosbol Bekmagambetov, Vice-Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Kazakhstan, during the conference.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) entered into force on March 21, 1994. To date, it is almost a universal international legal instrument in its scope.197 ratifying countries, including Kazakhstan, are called Parties to the Convention. The main goal of the UNFCCC is to prevent dangerous anthropogenic impacts on the Earth's climate system.