Press release of the International Ecological Forum: Kazakhstan-BeNeLux

On November 25, 2021, the International Environmental Forum was held: Kazakhstan-BeNeLux, which was organized by the ALE "Association" Chamber of Commerce "BeNeLux" together with the Association "KazEnergy" and the Kazakhstan Association of Regional Environmental Initiatives "EcoJer".

During this Forum, issues of global ecology were discussed, in particular, what tools are needed to reduce the negative impact of industry on the environment, the development of green energy and technologies for a low-carbon economy, including industrial waste management issues.

Denis Van den Weich, President of the BeNeLux Chamber of Commerce, emphasized the high interest of the company from the BeNeLux countries in Kazakhstan, which is confirmed by the data of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, where the total trade turnover of the BeNeLux countries with Kazakhstan from 2017 to 2019 amounted to 15,2 billion euros. Foreign direct investment from the BeNeLux countries since 2005 has amounted to more than 68,9 billion euros.

The Forum participants noted the importance of continuing fruitful cooperation with the Government of Kazakhstan and all partners in drawing the attention of the business community and society to the economic and social opportunities for the transition to a carbon neutral economy, as well as to decarbonization and infrastructure transformation necessary for low carbon and sustainable development.

According to R. Sultanov, Chairman of the Board of the Institute for Economic Research, the ESG Sustainable Development Project Office was recently established, and a working group was created within the Ministry of National Economy, where companies from BeNeLux countries were invited to develop proposals.

In addition, the speakers shared their case studies aimed at achieving carbon neutrality and reducing the carbon footprint.

Thus, Talgat Torebekov, Director of the Environmental Protection Department of ERG, spoke about the company's environmental strategy:

– Today, ERG enterprises comply with the regulatory requirements of Kazakhstan. But the Group strives to meet the highest standards. Therefore, the company has adopted its own Environmental Strategy, which will help to significantly reduce emissions: particulate matter by 56%, pollutants by 30%. And the processing and sale of secondary materials obtained from production waste - up to 2 million tons through the company ERG Recycling.

Investments in the program until 2030 will amount to about $1,6 billion.

One of the priorities of ArcelorMittal Temirtau is the desire to reduce the impact of production activities on the environment. The company is investing heavily in the phased introduction of the best available technologies, planning to achieve European values ​​for pollutant concentrations at the outlet of emission sources. With the planned investment measures, AMT will be able to influence the reduction of emissions throughout the entire production chain and achieve environmental efficiency by 2025.

Representatives of the Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Ambassadors of the BeNeLux countries in Kazakhstan, Eurasian Recourses Group (ERG), NC KazMunayGas, ArcelorMittal Temirtau, Institute for Economic Research, PwC, KazEnergy, EcoJer, Food Ventures, Witteveen took part in this Forum and spoke Bos Caspian Signify Philips