Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was the first to speak after opening the plenary session of the World Leaders' Climate Action Summit. At the beginning of his speech, he confirmed Kazakhstan's commitment to the global climate agenda and emphasized the importance of international cooperation in the fight against climate change. He reminded the forum participants of the country's ambitious goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.
The head of state noted that access to predictable financing and modern technologies is vital to achieving the goals. He said the New Collective Quantitative Climate Goal (NCQG) should focus on the regions most vulnerable to climate change, including landlocked developing countries.
"Despite accounting for only 1% of global emissions, Central Asia faces multiple climate risks. To improve the effectiveness of our response to climate change, we must actively use modern technologies such as artificial intelligence, satellite observation and other digital tools that provide early warning and more effective management of water and land resources,” the president said.
Kazakhstan is an ideal platform for introducing “carbon farming”
The country, with 200 million hectares of agricultural land, is an ideal platform for introducing “carbon farming”, that is, agricultural production methods that reduce emissions and improve soil quality. The President invited interested parties to explore Kazakhstan's potential in this industry.
"Our country provides 43% of the world's uranium supply and plays an important role in the development of low-carbon nuclear energy. In October of this year, the citizens of Kazakhstan supported the construction of a nuclear power plant in a national referendum. We strive to ensure the safety and efficiency of this project through partnerships with world technology leaders in energy“, noted the head of state.
Kasim-Jomart Tokaev also addressed the problem of global water resources. "Climate change is already having a major impact on the global water cycle. Water-related disasters account for more than 80% of all natural disasters. This year, Kazakhstan faced unprecedented floods. To ensure rapid future response and recovery from such extraordinary incidents, we implement a comprehensive risk management system. To update the water agenda, Kazakhstan, in partnership with France, will hold the One Water Summit in December this year. Participants in the forum will discuss the problems of global management of water resources. Today, the Caspian Sea is under threat. Saving the world's largest lake is our common problem, requiring long-term international cooperation. We support President Ilham Aliyev's initiative to create a Group of Experts from the Caspian States. In addition, Kazakhstan is taking concrete steps to preserve the Aral Sea”, the president added.
At the end of his speech, Kassim-Jomart Tokayev expressed gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev for organizing the summit and Azerbaijan's successful chairmanship of COP 29. The President reiterated that Kazakhstan is firmly committed to multilateral efforts aimed at shaping a fair , an inclusive and transparent climate agenda and also reaffirmed its readiness for further cooperation with international partners.
Leaders of more than 80 countries, heads of international and regional organizations are also scheduled to speak at the summit.