Kazakhstan planning to decrease emmissions into the atmosphere

Kazakhstan Environmental Protection Minister called to tightening ecological requirements for the companies during discussion of the partnership project to implement Astana's initiative called Green Bridge, Tengrinews.kz reports. “We are tightening the requirements every year, so that they (industrial companies) decrease emissions into the atmosphere. We are currently working on a legislation to make sure that all the companies and not just Karmetkombinat (state metallurgical company) are disciplined. I think that Ecological Code is very liberal in its current wording. That is why we have submitted several draft laws to tighten the requirements,” Nurgali Ashim said. The companies have to follow ecological regulations after ratification of international agreements, such as Kyoto Protocol. “If the government decides to decrease the level of carbon dioxide emissions, they (the companies) will have to do it, otherwise they will be fined for each extra ton of CO2,” Ashim said. This year Kazakhstan Environmental Protection Ministry is planning to present a draft law on water management to the Majilis (the Lower Chamber of the Parliament). The EU Water Framework Directive has been taken as a basis for this draft law. European companies that take water from rivers or lakes do not have a right to return it, they have to provide for a continuous recycling of this water. This is what the Green Bridge is working on,” the Minister said. “For sure it cannot be done in one year. A waiver shall be given to all companies, as the Soviet plants are located in the city centers. City administrations have to allocate lands for companies to build sewage ponds. And this is going to be done in time,” Ashim said. He said that the Ministry is working on the payment system for companies to pay for wastes. The authority wants plants and factories to pay for total accumulated volumes. By Maksim Popov