Kazakhstan’s Embrace of the Green Economy: Paradigm Shift or Wishful Thinking?

Abstract

Since gaining independence in 1991, Kazakhstan has achieved significant economic development in terms of macroeconomic growth, market liberalization and infrastructural improvement. These economic achievements have been primarily because of favorable conditions of global markets for the main export products of the country: oil; natural gas; and commodities such as metals, wheat, gold, and uranium, which provided for abundant state revenues. Stable economic growth has also led to political stability and legitimacy for the country’s president, Nursultan Nazarbayev. Since 2015, however, Kazakhstan has been affected by the glut of global supply of gas and oil, in turn leading to a massive drop by around 50% in prices for Kazakhstan’s main export commodities and sharp drops in government revenues. Financial shortfalls occurred coincidentally when the government first introduced its concept of the Green Economy. This thesis analyzes the concept of “Transition of Kazakhstan to Green Economy” that was adopted in 2013 and has been being implemented by the Kazakh government ever since. Considering the strong dependence of the Kazakhstani economy on oil, gas and other natural resources and execution of major petroleum projects that provide most of State income, it becomes questionable how successful the Green Economy transition will be. This Thesis is aimed at answering the question of what the real driver for adopting Green Economy in Kazakhstan is and how doable it is in current realities. The author assumes that Kazakhstan is not ready yet to fulfill its commitments for a transition to the Green Economy and justifies it with discourse analysis, expert interviews, in addition to economic and environmental data analyses.