Kazakhstan Quadruples Environmental Investments in First Half of 2025
Kazakhstan significantly increased its investments in environmental protection during the first half of 2025, allocating 78.8 billion tenge (US$145 million), a 4.6-fold rise compared to the same period in 2024, according to Finprom’s report published on July 31.
Data from the Bureau of National Statistics indicates a sharp reversal from the previous year, when environmental investments declined more than fivefold to 52.8 billion tenge (US$97.3 million) — the lowest level recorded since 2017.
Despite the current surge, overall environmental expenditures, which include capital investments, the rational use of natural resources, and related operational costs, declined in 2024. Total spending amounted to 456.1 billion tenge (US$840.7 million), marking a 25% decrease from 610.3 billion tenge (US$1.12 billion) in 2023. This decline followed a substantial 37.3% increase the year prior.
Key areas of environmental spending in 2024 included air protection and climate change mitigation, which received the largest allocation at 153.6 billion tenge (US$283 million), reflecting a 25.8% increase year-on-year. Waste management and wastewater treatment received 146.9 billion tenge (US$270.8 million) and 83.3 billion tenge (US$153.5 million), respectively.
Conversely, expenditures on environmental protection within the renewable energy sector fell sharply, from 202.4 billion tenge (US$373 million) in 2023 to just 27.8 billion tenge (US$51.2 million) in 2024.
According to the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR), global greenhouse gas emissions reached 529.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2023, representing a 1.9% increase compared to 2022.
Since 1990, global emissions have risen by 62%, driven primarily by the energy sector, which nearly doubled its emissions. Other major contributors include the industrial sector (91% increase), transportation (78%), and waste management (56%).
In 2023, the top three global emitters — China, the United States, and India — accounted for nearly 50% of total emissions. China led with 15.9 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (30.1% of global emissions), followed by the United States with six billion tons, and India with 4.1 billion tons.
Photo credit: freepik
