ASTANA — Kazakhstan invested 78.8 billion tenge (US$145 million) in environmental protection during the first half of 2025, a 4.6-fold increase compared to the same period last year, reported Finprom on July 31.
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According to the Bureau of National Statistics, the increase marks a sharp reversal from 2024, when environmental investments fell 5.2-fold to 52.8 billion tenge (US$97.3 million), the lowest level since 2017.
Overall environmental spending, which includes investments, efficient use of natural resources, and operating costs, also declined last year. In 2024, total spending was 456.1 billion tenge (US$840.7 million), down 25% from 610.3 billion tenge (US$1.12 billion) in 2023. This drop followed a 37.3% increase in the previous year.
Among the key areas of environmental spending in 2024, air protection and climate change mitigation received the highest share at 153.6 billion tenge (US$283 million), reflecting a 25.8% annual growth. Waste management and wastewater treatment accounted for 146.9 billion tenge (US$270.8 million) and 83.3 billion tenge (US$153.5 million), respectively.
Conversely, expenditures on environmental protection in the renewable energy sector declined from 202.4 billion tenge (US$373 million) in 2023 to 27.8 billion tenge (US$51.2 million) in 2024.
Key global emission figures
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, a 1.9% increase from 2022.
Since 1990, global emissions have grown by 62%. The most significant increase came from the energy sector, which nearly doubled its emissions. Industrial activities rose by 91%, transportation by 78%, and waste by 56%.
In 2023, China, the United States, and India accounted for nearly half of global emissions. China alone was responsible for 30.1%, or 15.9 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. The U.S. and India emitted six billion and 4.1 billion tons, respectively.
Russia and Brazil followed with 2.7 billion and 1.3 billion tons of emissions. Other top emitters included Indonesia, Japan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Canada. Combined, these ten countries produced almost two-thirds of the global greenhouse gas emissions.
In Central Asia and the Eurasian Economic Union, Kazakhstan ranked second after Russia in greenhouse gas emissions. In 2023, Kazakhstan emitted 320.4 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, followed by Uzbekistan with 214.5 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. The lowest figures were recorded in Armenia (10.8 million tons), Tajikistan (21.4 million tons), and the Kyrgyz Republic (21.7 million tons).