March 29, 2024

Bitfury will join UN environmental programs in Kazakhstan

Bitfury will join UN environmental programs in Kazakhstan

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Kazakhstan will join forces with Bitfury Group to preserve and replenish largetracts of forest land throughout the country.

As part of the partnership between BIOFIN, UNDP and Bitfurywill work to increase forest area, improve forestry practices and raise public awareness of climate change, offsetting more than 100 percent of the company's carbon emissions.   

The project will focus on carbon removaltrace by protecting forests, flora and fauna. The initiative will also serve as a guide for Kazakhstan’s legislation, expanding carbon offset options over the next decade.

Yakup Berish, UNDP representative in Kazakhstan, said:

This is the first carbon offsetting step forKazakhstan, and we hope that it will create the basis for boosting the country's efforts to reduce the carbon footprint in partnership with the private sector. These are practical solutions that will require institutionalization and scaling up.

Currently, there are 29 Kazakhstanmillion hectares of forests, but most of this land is threatened with extinction as a result of illegal logging, forest fires and land-use change.

Government officials say by midFor centuries, they intend to cover 50% of their energy needs with alternative and renewable energy sources. Over the past 5 years, Kazakhstan has already achieved a 45% annual reduction in energy consumption for heating pilot municipal buildings.

In the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable GoalsUnited Nations Development Goals (SDGs) say that a full transition to a sustainable, low-carbon and climate-resilient world will require significant investment and innovation from both the government and the private sector.

Kazakhstan ratified the Paris Agreement in 2016 and committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15% by 2030 by mobilizing innovative solutions with the participation of the private sector.

According to experts, the total amount of forestcarbon in Kazakhstan is estimated at more than 718.3 million tons of CO2 equivalent. An increase in forest cover from 4.6% to 5% will help increase forest carbon sequestration in addition to 2.9 million tons of CO2 equivalent per year. In addition, healthy forests provide essential services, including water management, biodiversity, food, medicine and ecotourism.

UNDP is working to helpgovernment and partners in Kazakhstan to achieve a rapid transition to renewable energy. For example, the agency has developed a solar energy atlas and is collaborating with the Global Environment Facility to increase investments nationwide in large-scale and small-scale renewable energy sources.

Recall that recently, Kazakhstani lawmakers completed the development of a project regulating the legal status of mining, cryptocurrency circulation in the country and their taxation.