16 Kazakhstan companies receive greenhouse gas emissions permits

Kazakhstan Environmental Protection Ministry has issued greenhouse gas emissions certificates to 16 companies in Kazakhstan, Tengrinews.kz reports citing the official website of Kazakhstan Prime-Minister Serik Akhmetov. “Kazakhstan Ministry of Environmental Protection has issued greenhouse gas emission certificates to 16 companies; another 40 applications are at the initial stage of approval. The Ministry is working with other companies as well, consulting them. They can submit documents for the carbon credits and correct their mistakes without any penalties,” head of Zhassyl Damu Sergei Tsoi said. According to him, 54 companies have failed to submit any documents at all. “This is the risk group where we will have to take suspension measures, as the deadline was May 1. These are mainly energy and heating companies that have not submitted the documents,” he said. Liability of GHG emitting companies for operating without greenhouse gas emissions permits is set for in the Ecological Code and provides for suspension of such companies’ activities until the certificate is obtained, Tsoi added. “These are mostly small regional heating and energy plants that have not planned for additional funding in their budgets or have no ecological experts among their staff to make the calculations,” Tsoi said.