At the forthcoming exhibition EcoTech 2017 the investments in the “green economy” will be discussed

This year the event will have a varied business program, mainly devoted to investments in the development of “green technologies” necessary to stimulate the acceleration of the process of achieving sustainable development of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the full transition from a “brown economy” to its “green” counterpart.

This issue is especially topical and, in particular, is associated with the expectation of the world community of the successful implementation of the landmark projects: EXPO-2017 on “Energy of the Future” and “Green Bridge” Partnership Programme aimed at promoting sustainable development in the Central Asian and other regions of the world.

Currently, the main priority tasks for the transition to a “green economy” facing the country are increasing the efficiency of the use of resources and enhancing well-being of the population through cost-effective ways to mitigate the pressure on environment, and to strengthen national security, including regarding transboundary water issues.

Thus, the forthcoming exhibition will cover all spheres of the economy: energy, industry, transport, construction, agriculture and many others. Participation in the exhibition will provide a unique opportunity for suppliers and manufacturers from different countries to demonstrate equipment and services, share best practices on the development of green technologies and get expert assessment from the industry experts.

Currently, the most important priority is the introduction of such technologies into the entire chain of activities of Kazakhstan companies, including, in addition to production, consumption, management and methods of organization of production aimed at fulfilling the commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions presented at the Paris Summit in 2015.

Also, taking into account a steady increase in the share of renewable energy sources (RES) in the total amount of its generation (according to the results of 2016 renewable energy sources produced more electricity, increased by 32% and their share rose from 0.77% in 2015 to 1% in 2016), and the need, associated with it, to increase the amount of financing of high-technology projects to achieve a 50% share of renewable energy by 2050, EcoTech will hold a number of significant discussions with the participation of government agencies and international organizations.

So, the international conference will be held on April 26, the agenda of which will focus mainly on the issue regarding investments in the green economy. The representatives of the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Agriculture, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and other international organizations will take part in the discussions.

On April 27, within the framework of the joint project EU/UNDP/UNECE the 4th technical seminar will be held, which will present the tools for supporting Kazakhstan’s transition to a green economy model. The agenda will include the discussion of the best international practices, grant and pilot projects, as well as proposals for the institutionalization of “Green Bridge” Partnership Programme.

The significance of the exhibition’s business program is also conditioned by the April discussion between the government and international organizations of the legislative and practical aspects of the implementation of the Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) in the countries of the European Union. In particular, the UNECE is considering the possibility of conducting the pilot SEA in Kazakhstan, as well as providing support in the sphere of capacity development and teaching the SEA methodology to representatives of responsible government agencies and other concerned organizations.

This year the most important element of the Concept on Kazakhstan’s transition to a “green path” of development - the waste management system has also been paid due consideration to. In the framework of the International Conference EcoTech 2017 a separate session will be devoted to the issues as commitments of producers to waste processing, improvement of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan in this aspect, the best world practices and modern know-how.

Also in 2017, in parallel with EcoTech the 7th Kazakhstan International Occupational Safety and Health Conference and Exhibition – KIOSH will be held.

The business partners of EcoTech are “KazWaste” Kazakhstan Waste Management Association, Kazakhstan Association of Natural Resource Users for Sustainable Development “KAPUR”, as well as the Republican Association of Mining and Metallurgical Enterprises (AGMP), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), “Coalition for Green Economy and Development G-Global” ALE.

The organisers of the event are Iteca Kazakhstan Exhibition Company and its partner the international group of companies ITE Group Plc (UK) with the support and participation of the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan.