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Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 140 ( 2014 ) 695 – 699
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1877-0428 © 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of PSYSOC 2013.
doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.04.497
PSYSOC 2013
Green Economy - Innovation-Based Development of Kazakhstan
Sabit Diyar
a
*, Aigul Akparova
b
, Azamat Toktabayev
c
, Marina Tyutunnikova
d
a
University of International Business, Faculty of Economics and Accounting, Department of Accounting and Audit, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Abstract
Problem Statement: The stable growth and the shift to a green economy are two of the greatest challenges of our time. Purpose of
Study: Formation of suggestions and recommendations for their implementation into the model of the National Strategy of
Kazakhstan Sustainable Development Methods: Analysis of the Green economy concepts; analysis of international and State
programs possibilities; country technical potential of renewable resources and energy sources assessment. Conclusions and
Recommendations: The State initiatives such as transition to the Green Economy, formulation of the National Strategy for
Sustainable Development, the Green Bridge Program and holding the International Specialized Exhibition EXPO – 2017
obviously will become the most significant steps towards the new ways of development for Kazakhstan.
© 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of PSYSOC 2013.
Keywords: Green economy, stable growth, clean technologies, exhibition;
1. Introduction
Green economy being a new branch of the economic science developing during the last years has multiple
interpretations. Thus, it could be defined as the branch in the economic science established during the last decades
according to which the economy is a dependent component of natural environment where it exists as a part thereof.
Conception of the Green economy includes ideas of many other branches of economic science and philosophy such
as postmodernism, ecological economy and the environmental economy, antoglobalism, theory of international
relations and many others. However, the most capacious, brief and precise definition is probably the following:
UNEP (United Nations Environment Program): “The green economy is the economy which improves the welfare of
people and strengthen the social equity in parallel with significant reduction of ecological and ecological resources
risks”.
*Corresponding Author: Sabit Diyar. Tel.: +8-727-267-2994
E-mail address: diar_sk@mail.ru
© 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of PSYSOC 2013.
696 Sabit Diyar et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 140 ( 2014 ) 695 – 699
The abovementioned definitions do not contain such understanding as sustainable development the concept of
which was adopted during the World Summit of the States’ Heads and Governments in 1992 in Rio-de-Janeiro. It is
assumed that establishment of the green economy without building a sustainable development in the region, state
and within interstate area is ineffective and even impossible. As per the UN experts’ report “The Transition to a
Green Economy: Benefits, Challenges and Risks from a Sustainable Development Perspective” the green economy
concept should be considered together with wider conception of the sustainable development [1].
Practically speaking the green economy is the economy where the growth of the people’s welfare and
employment increase are provided owing to the state and social investments ensuring reduction of emissions and
environmental pollution and stimulating effective use of energy and resources as well as preventing from any harm
to biodiversity and ecosystem.
Thus, the Summit Rio+20 was intended to not only reduce hydrocarbon and other emissions it also helped to
define a new way for growth, the way ensuring sustainable use of natural resources and effective economy.
In business environment the green economy attitude is of high attention. Financial funds, venture capital,
governments of leading countries, businessmen and consumers are building the green economy already. Investments
in energy effective technologies and natural infrastructures already pay back.
Base of the green economy or green technology (cleantech or greentech) such as new technologies or business-
models offers to the investors and buyers a competitive profit together with global issues solutions. Clean
technologies help to solve ecological issues through use of new innovative approaches also by changing the
products, technologies and consumers’ behavior significantly. Clean technologies are stimulated by purchasers’
preferences and therefore, are quite successful on the markets with positive financial results.
The clean technologies market by reducing significantly or eliminating any negative impact on the environment
is represented by a wide range of goods, services, processes that ensure high productivity with reduced expenses as
well as more efficient and responsible natural resources use.
There are 11 segments as follows:
1. Power generation: wind, solar, hydro/marine, biofuel, geothermal power etc.
2. Power storage: fuel cells, improved batteries, hybrid systems.
3. Power infrastructure: management, transfer
4. Power efficiency: illumination in the buildings, glasses etc.
5. Transportation: transport means, logistics, structure, fuel.
6. Water and sewage: water treatment, water protection, waste water treatment.
7. Air and environment: purification/safety, emissions control, monitoring/compliance, trade and compensation.
8. Materials: nano, bio, chemical etc.
9. Production/Industry: improved packaging, monitoring and control etc.
10. Agriculture: natural pesticides, land management, aquaculture etc.
11. Recycling and wastes: wastes management and recycling
2. Problems and opportunities
Currently global market of green products and services makes $546 billion.
The Cleantech forecasts a market share of clean technologies to be $2 trillion by the end of 2020.
Kazakhstan has a distinct understanding of the state management assuming that promotion of the green economy
is the main way and the only one in maintaining a sustainable development. Moreover, historically Kazakhstan’s
major ecological problems are those that other states never faced before.
In particular, Semipalatinsk nuclear polygon that was closed by the efforts of the people’s movement Nevada –
Semipalatinsk and the President’s decree but the consequences and effect of nuclear tests still exist even now. In
addition there are plenty of industrial wastes – over 23 billion ton, where 9 billion ton of anthropogenic mineral
formations are the heritage from old Soviet industrial enterprises’ activities that are to be disposed somehow, too.
It also includes water problems because Kazakhstan is highly dependent on border water sources. Therefore,
there is a whole complex of ecological issues that are still to be resolved.
Experts and ecologists alarm us about the global climate change consequences such as lack of water, drought,
desertification that might happen within 20-30 years in Kazakhstan. Development of the green economy would
allow reducing these risks and threats. However, the state and economy should develop anyway. Therefore the green
economy is to be developed and not only to prevent the expected ecological changes. It is not just an idea, it is a
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clear action plan and moreover, there is no other way to solve these kinds of problems. The main purpose of the
green economy is to increase welfare and quality of life of the population.
During the last years the ideology of sustainable development was transformed into the regional management
strategies, programs and methodologies tested in many states. Concepts are based on globally recognized
conceptions and principles of sustainable development reflecting the world experience in implementation of the XXI
century Agenda (adopted on the UN Sustainable Development Conference in Rio-de-Janeiro on June 3-14 of 1992):
Ecological expanse; Biotic regulation and economic value of ecosystems; Human and social capital; Intersectoral,
regional and global partnership; Strategic evaluation and planning; Corporate and integrated management; Well-
balanced personal and public interests and other.
Indicators of sustainable development are the following: level of unemployment, migration of the population,
demography, GDP per capita, indicators of development of industry and agriculture, ecology and health of the
population.
Establishment of the National Strategy for Sustainable Development will allow the movement towards the model
designed to reduce poverty, improve life quality of the population, ensure ecological safety and to create the
conditions for further long-term transformation of the state economy, i.e. model integrates the green economy and
the sustainable development by defining a new way for development of Kazakhstan. However, connecting
economic, social, institutional and ecological aspects of the sustainable development is the main condition to enaure
national security as well as the main aspect in protecting vital interests of the state and the public.
It should be noticed that the model of the National Strategy for Sustainable Development serves as a foundation
for long-term Strategy Kazakhstan 2050 proposed by the President of the state in his address in December of 2012.
It’s no coincidence that this strategy is distinguished by its approach to solving economic tasks which includes
totality of enforced material potency build-up and improved quality of life in Kazakhstan [2].
Serious support for establishment of the model of the National Strategy for Sustainable Development will be the
Green Bridge Program. It was developed subject to requirements to integrate the efforts of regional processes in the
field of environmental protection and development under coordination of the UN ESCATO and EEC to preserve
ecosystems common to Eurasian region and to strengthen internal potential under the framework of the Zhasyl
Damu (Green Development) National Program and also proposed as Astana initiative on the 6-th Conference of
Ministers on Environment and Development of Asian and Pacific Region.
The Green Bridge Program’s tools are the projects designed to create the conditions and infrastructure to expand
an access to green technologies and investments. The Green Bridge Program implementation may involve the
projects in the field of renewable power generation, production of clean products that are to be applied also during
construction of social facilities. In Kazakhstan unlike in Europe 90% of land resources are not contaminated by
chemicals and pesticides, therefore, there is still a possibility for cultivating clean products and foodstuff of high
value and demand on the International markets. With the help of such projects as the Green Bridge our framers will
get help in producing valuable products and in purchase of new technologies.
The Green Bridge Program is offered by our state as effective tool accomplishing the existing programs with the
elements like relation with real economy sector, investments and technologies, green economy methods by
developing new green business branches and creating long-term and stable basis through the state and international
political reforms, creation of legal, economic and institutional conditions.
Global Energy-Ecological Strategy ensuring scientific approach and assessment of energy welfare for all the
states and regions with no damage to globally significant ecosystems and no anthropogenic impact on the climate
change processes is significant supplement to the Green Bridge Program. The Program is designed to implement the
green investment projects of the states with any political structure and level of economic development.
Alike other programs this Partnership Program provides active participation of the state as well business sector
along with international, nongovernmental and scientific organizations. Relation with a real sector of economy and
business projects may lead to multiplicative and mutually beneficial effect and give the partners the possibilities to
apply their tools developed earlier in practice.
The Partnership Green Bridge Program
has no donor states and beneficiaries. The movement goes in two
directions: one is the ecologically clean products and the other is the green products produced according to green
technologies. Leading states should provide on gratis the turn-key advanced green technologies packages. In turn
the developing countries should provide favorable conditions for attracting the green technologies and investments.
All the states-partners provide free markets for the green goods produced according to the green technologies.
It should be noted that the Program activities are extensive: three-quarter of the world population, over 1 billion
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of poverty, almost 90% of greenhouse gas emissions, significant ecosystems and energy and natural resources. That
means that the new technologies possibilities, best and successful experience, creation and producing the new green
products and service markets are quite significant.
However, the Program ensures the maintenance and restoration of interregional globally significant ecosystems
and imparts regional nature to green business projects.
4. EXPO – 2017
Significant importance for development of Kazakhstan has also the International Specialized Exhibition EXPO –
2017 venue selected on November 22, 2012 by secret vote on the 152-nd General Assembly of the International
Exhibitions Bureau in Paris. Potential of renewable power and natural gas in Kazakhstan is quite high. The state is
able to generate 20% and 40% of power from natural gas by 2030 and 2050 relevantly. Commercial proven reserves
of gas in Kazakhstan - 3,5 trillion m3 and this puts the state in a range of ten leaders in the world. Possible energy
saving during its generation and transportation phases reaches 40%, in the consumption sector it is up to 50–60%.
Increased energy efficiency and energy saving is the most effective and less capital-intensive direction in solving the
energy-related issues.
Technical potential of renewable resources and energy sources based on wind energy is equal approximately to 1
trillion kW/h per year, and it is 25 times higher than volume of consumption of all fuel and energy resources of the
state. Potential of solar energy is equal to 1 trillion kW/h. Preferable areas for installing solar energy facilities are
the following: Aral area and South Regions of Kazakhstan suffering from lack of electricity. Total potential of small
HPS’ (unit capacity bellow 10 MW) is 8 billion kW/h. Summary hydraulic potential of Kazakhstan including big
HPS’ is equal to 62 billion kW/h per year where the economically efficient generation is equal to 27 billion kW/h
[3].
The Government of the state assuming that the EXPO – 2017 is a big chance to support the state in development
of the green economy, submitted to the President for approval the Order № 436 on establishment of the state
commission for preparation and conduction of the International Specialized Exhibition EXPO-2017 with the
following topic: Future Energy, on November 26, 2012.
According to official data the area and general features of the exhibition project are being defined. During 5
years it is planned to build on approximately 113 ha where a Pavilion Complex will take 25 ha and the rest 88 ha
will be used for the auxiliary infrastructure such as parking, restaurants, hotels etc. Exhibition area is included in
perspective plan of the capital and the options for using the area after the exhibition are already defined. This place
is called “EXPO-2017 City”. The area will be equipped with cameras helping 2 billion internet-users throughout the
world to see and watch the event (Digital EXPO project). Also the area will be under free access Wi-Fi cover. After
the International Exhibition it is planned to build a Museum of Science and Scientific Research Center to be given to
the Nazarbayev University in future.
It is assumed that over 100 states of the world and approximately 10 International Organizations will participate
in the EXPO-2017. According to optimistic forecasts the exhibition will be able to host 5 mln guests during the
whole period of the event. However, it will be required to solve the issues related to improvement of the transport
infrastructure quality.
Astana set a challenge by defining the EXPO-2017 as a prestigious event which may influence positively on
political image of the state. However, no major economic effect is expected so far. Currently a rational approach to
attraction and implementation of innovative projects for qualitative changes in energy sector including the
development of alternative energy sources and new methods of transportation is being developed.
5. Conclusions and Recommendations
Thus, these state initiatives such as transition to the Green Economy, formulation of the National Strategy for
Sustainable Development, Green Bridge Program and holding the International Specialized Exhibition EXPO –
2017 obviously will become the most significant steps towards the new ways of development for Kazakhstan.
Also, the experts consider that inclusion in the model of the National Strategy for Sustainable Development of
the following will be useful:
- ensure personnel, skills and knowledge sufficiency including proper training of engineering and technical and
management personnel;
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To achieve this it is necessary to take the steps in the following directions:
- training of the sufficient number of engineers in the field of environmental protection and resources efficiency;
- industrial training and retraining of the existing engineers, representatives of government agencies and farmers.
One more important condition is to train the public in the field of ecoculture and environmental protection. To do
so the following is required:
- build a responsible and thrifty attitude to energy water and other natural resources use, adopt a habit of separate
collection of domestic wastes for further recycling purposes;
- include the comprehensive topics related to the environmental protection in curriculums of educational
organizations. That would help to educate the young generation to treat the natural resources with due care and it
will ensure additional benefit;
- undertake an extended communicational campaign and educational programs to increase the awareness of the
population in the field of resources use and in ecological issues. Such measures should ensure change of the
behavioral model of the population relating to use of heating and cooling, waste disposal and water use systems.
- launch the targeted support of the R&D ensuring establishment of ecologically clean technologies and
investments for their implementation;
- modify the ecological taxation system assuming changing the focus from taxes to the workforce, taxes on
everything what is harmful for the environment;
- change the state purchase policies that are to support production of ecologically clean products and production
methods matching the principles of sustainable development;
- provide the state investments in the infrastructure in accordance with the sustainable development principles –
construction of energy effective structures, building public transport means, renewable energy and natural capital;
- introduce the pricing in accordance with the sustainable development principles including waive of ineffective
subsidies, evaluation of natural resources in monetary terms.
References
The Transition to a Green Economy: Benefits, Challenges and Risks from a Sustainable Development Perspective. Report by a Panel of Experts*
to Second Preparatory Committee Meeting for United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development.
Address by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Leader of the Nation, N.Nazarbayev “Strategy Kazakhstan-2050”: new political course
of the established state”. Official site of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. URL: http://www.akorda.kz.
Kazakhstan in 2011. Official site of the Agency of Statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan. URL: http://www.stat.kz.
