KAZENERGY Association : Ministerial Conference and the Eighth International forum on energy

PRESS RELEASE

Ministerial Conference and the Eighth International forum on energy

14 June, Astana

Final day of the Eighth International Forum on energy

Today is the final day of the Ministerial Conference and the Eighth International Forum on energy 'Meeting the challenge of sustainable development'. On the platform of the forum, experts, including Aidar Kazybayev, Director of the Department of International Relations and Public Relations of the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Pedro Robiou, Senior Energy Specialist of the International Finance Corporation, Thomas Minnich, Head of the Private Sector Unit at Asian Development Bank, and other experts raise the issues of funding the renewable energy sources:

How are renewable energy projects financed in emerging markets and in the region?

What are the main risks and barriers that limit project development and access to local capital for renewable energy projects?

What is the role of public financial institutions in mobilizing investors and private sector banks?

The discussion involved the representatives of governmental organizations, international financial centers, financial institutions, industry associations, RE project developers and experts.

Also the forum participants were especially interested in the meeting organized by the UNECE in cooperation with Swiss universities and C2E2, called Smart Cities.

Various solutions and innovations at the level of cities connected with energy efficiency, which can become an inspiration model for other cities seeking to develop energy efficiency, were presented at the meeting. For example, Ksenia Petrichenko, a researcher at the Copenhagen Center, presented street lighting projects based on LED lamps and new buildings that will reduce energy consumption by 2.5 times compared to the current situation.

Speakers also paid attention to the waste management system, namely, to the processing, recycling and alternative energy derived from wastes. The head of Astrakhan city administration Oleg Polumordinov noted that very effective waste management options are presented at EXPO.

At the final meeting, Scott Foster, Director of Sustainable Energy Division, Hongpeng Liu, Director of ESCAP Energy Division, Roula Maidalani, Director of ESCWA Sustainable Development Policies Division, and Ramazan Zhampiissov, Executive Director of KAZENERGY Association, summarized and announced the results of the forum.

'The Ministerial Conference and the Eighth International Energy Forum helped to increase the importance of the regional aspect in achieving the goal of sustainable energy development;

To strengthen the understanding of the role of fossil fuels in the future energy systems within the short and medium terms;

To increase the awareness of countries about various possible ways of development;

To hear the opinions of the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus on energy and climate issues, and

Initiated the creation of the International Center for the Development of Green Technologies and Investment Projects under the auspices of the United Nations in Astana', - Scott Foster said in his final speech.

Hongpeng Liu, Scott Foster and Roula Maidalani expressed their impressions of the forum and thanked the Government of Kazakhstan and KAZENERGY Association on behalf of the UN for organizing and supporting the Ministerial Conference and the Eighth International Energy Forum.

Although each country will make its contribution to the implementation of the Agenda 2030 and the fulfillment of the Paris Agreement, there is no uniform solution for everyone, and each country will choose its best approach taking into account its national features.