Study on Kazakhstan’s Green Growth Policy: Focusing on the ‘Kazakhstan 2050 Strategy’ and Renewable Energy Policy
Authors:   Asia-Europe Perspective Association, Lee Ji-eon 
Published: June 2018

The government of Kazakhstan today presents the new concept of a long-term development strategy from the view of green growth which enables Kazakhstan to achieve sustainable economic growth and environmental protection. Wind power, hydropower, biomass are the most prospective, abundant clean resources among low carbon and eco-friendly renewable energy resources in Kazakhstan and the government pays attentions to fostering the relevant industry in recent years. Although the government’s green growth policy is less developed compared to other developed states’ green growth policy, it is likely to say that Kazakh government’s will and effort to make a transition to green economy are getting intensive and stronger. Recently, cooperation with the relevant organizations in the Republic of Korea on green technology industry has been actively called on.
In this regards, this paper seeks to explore the concept and plans of green growth and renewable energy policy of ‘Kazakhstan 2050 strategy’ which is the long-term national development program of Kazkhstan. ‘Green economy’ and new paradigm regarding economic growth & energy supply have been embedded to this ‘2050 Strategy’. It can be said that this latest strategy presents quite different paradigm from the previous national development strategies which focused on so called ‘brown economy’ such as a transition to the market economy, fostering manufacturing industries.
Both ‘2030 Strategy’ and ‘2050 Strategy’ set their goal on economic growth throughout industry diversification, however, while the first one is based on brown economy, the latter reflects the Kazakh government’s will to find the way of national development from developing the green economic sectors. This is likely to say that the current government clearly knows that only green economy can secure the sustainable future economic growth and also only continuous economic growth could provide the regime with stability.
The main point of green growth of Kazakh government is to expand the base of the low carbon and eco-friendly industry in the country and also raise the percentage of renewable energy power production up to 50% up to 2050. At the same time, with high potential of wind power and hydro energy power, Kazakhstan seeks to cooperate with the developed countries which have high level of green technology including renewable energy production. ‘Green Bridge Partnership Program 2011-2020’ is one of the Kazakh government’s ambitious cooperation propagandas with the international societies in recent years.
Still, the position of renewable energy industry can be said less ‘visible’ out of the whole industry in Kazakhstan yet. However, if Kazakhstan at the stage of developing country could promote her policy of transition to the green economy successfully, this renewable energy industry not only can be as the new industry developing driver and but also the new model for under-developed or developing countries over the world. Korea also should find the way of cooperation with Kazakhstan from this point of view.