5 February 2018: The World Bank and the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan launched an online platform for monitoring, reporting and verifying emission sources and greenhouse gases (GHG). The platform is a critical component of Kazakhstan’s national emissions trading system (ETS), which was launched in 2013, and is the first of its kind in Central Asia.

It enables Kazakhstan’s major emitters to transmit and record data on GHG emissions and trade online, and it covers all major companies in the energy, oil and gas, and mining sectors, as well as chemical and processing industries. An emission cap has been set for 129 companies for the period 2018-2020, with quotas allocated until 2020. The caps are set out in the National Allocation Plan, adopted in January 2018.

GHG data is confirmed by accredited bodies for verification and validation, and transferred to the cadastre using an electronic digital signature. Seven verification companies are accredited in Kazakhstan, with five more undergoing the accreditation process.

Kazakhstan is one of the largest emitters in Europe and Central Asia, with the energy sector accounting for 82% of total emissions, followed by agriculture and industrial processes. More than 80% of produced electricity in Kazakhstan is coal-fired, followed by natural gas and hydropower. In its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), Kazakhstan proposed an economy-wide reduction of GHG emissions of 15% from 1990 emissions levels by 2030.

The World Bank Trust Fund’s Partnership for Market Readiness (PMR) has been providing technical assistance to Kazakhstan since 2014 to support implementation of the national ETS and other climate-related policies. [World Bank Press Release] [Partnership for Market Readiness]