Kazakhstan approved the “Concept for transition of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Green Economy” on May 30, 2013, the concept is aimed at increasing the innovation and competitiveness of the state. The round table "Green Economy" - a paradigm of innovative and sustainable development of Kazakhstan", organized by the Library of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan-Elbassy jointly with the UN PAGE Program “Partnership for Action on Green Economy" and the Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan was timed to coincide with this date.

The event was attended by the Chairperson of the Presidium of the Association of Environmental Organizations of Kazakhstan – Aliya Nazarbayeva, director of the Library of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan-Elbassy – Bakhytzhan Temirbolat, Minister of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Magzum Mirzagaliev, member of the UN PAGE Board of Directors, Director of the Division for Planet at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) – Angus Mackay, member of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Yeldos Abakanov, professor at Lomonosov Moscow State University, Academician of the Russian Ecological Academy – Sergey Bobylev, UNDP Resident Representative in Kazakhstan – Yakup Beris and other well-known leaders and experts in the field of protection and maintenance of environment.

Representatives of the regional departments of the Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan, youth labor squads "Zhasyl El", teaching staff, graduate and PhD students of the departments of ecology and biology of universities in Kazakhstan and volunteers of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan-Elbassy participated in the event via videoconference.

Head of state K.K. Tokayev called greening of the economy and environmental protection main priorities of the economic course, initiating the development of the national project "Green Kazakhstan" for 2021-2025. Regions of the country are implementing the ambitious task set by the President to plant over 2 billion trees in forests and 15 million trees in settlements within five years to increase carbon sequestration and to curb increasing desertification.

 “This year all Kazakhstan citizens are preparing to celebrate a historic milestone – the 30th anniversary of the country's independence. This is not only an anniversary date, but also an opportunity to comprehend the results of the path traveled. The expression “nature is not a temple, but a workshop” is in no way appropriate lately, the world community perceives nature as a source of life and a single organism. And this means that improving the quality of life should be pursued while maintaining the natural balance and the global ecological balance of natural ecosystems,” said Bakhytzhan Temirbolat, director of the Library of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan-Elbassy.

“Each strategy of modernization of Kazakhstan defines clear guidelines for building a sustainable and effective model of the economy based on the country's transition to the “green” path. Today, the International Green Technologies & Investments Center establishes strategic partnerships with leading international organizations and research institutes of European and Asian countries, covers specific application projects that meet all the goals and objectives of the Green Bridge Partnership Program: transfer and implementation of green technology, implementation of really working mechanisms for the inflow of international green investments to support the business of Kazakhstan, active integration of the Kazakhstan turnover of carbon units into the global greenhouse gas market,” said Aliya Nazarbayeva, Chairperson of the Presidium of the Association of Environmental Organizations of Kazakhstan.

 “In December 2020, at the Climate Ambition Summit, the Head of State announced that Kazakhstan is committed to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Last year, we started developing a Low-Carbon Development Concept. Currently, the implementation of the second phase of the Concept for the transition to Green Economy is becoming more and more urgent. The second phase is focused on 2021-2030 and provides measures to transform the national economy with the focus on the careful use of water, encouragement and promotion of the development and mainstreaming introduction of renewable energy technologies,” said Magzum Mirzagaliev, Minister of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

“The green economy can accelerate knowledge-based economic transformation by offering a progressive approach to greening individual sectors, stimulating the development of new skills and the introduction of technology. This is an ambitious task that requires a broad vision. For the successful implementation of this ambitious agenda, countries will need a comprehensive revision of socio-economic development policies, adaptation of sector programs, investment in new technology, as well as the development of new skills for green production,” noted UNDP Resident Representative in Kazakhstan Yakup Beris in his speech.

The participants of the round table also planted trees in the park near the Library of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan-Elbassy as part of the event.