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By 2050, the available resources in the Syr Darya and Amu Darya basins – the region’s two largest sources of water - situated in southern Kazakhstan and along Uzbekistan’s southern border with Turkmenistan - could decrease by 10% to 15%. Water shortages inevitably impact the region’s agricultural sector, which relies on water as a critical factor in food production, the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) has stated in a news release. The reduction in wheat yields in seven oblasts of Kazakhstan could result in direct economic losses exceeding U$1.2 billion by 2030. These concerns were highlighted by Conrad Albrecht, Managing Director and Head of the Directorate of Sustainability at the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) during the recent Seventh North and Central Asia Multistakeholder Forum on the Implementation of the SDGs in Almaty. “Kazakhstan, being the only Eurasian nation to have implemented a carbon pricing system, faces the additional challenge of a potential carbon tax amounting to U$250 million. Most economies in the region rely heavily on carbon-intensive industries, necessitating a transition towards more sustainable production methods”, Albrecht said. He also pointed out that the region’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions significantly exceed its contribution to the global economy in terms of both GDP and population. However, countries such as Armenia, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have a share of global CO2 emissions lower than their share of the world’s population, indicating that the region’s economies are critically carbon intensive. “All countries in the Eurasian region are taking climate change extremely seriously, acknowledge their direct contribution to the global agenda and are ready to make ambitious commitments to decarbonization”, Albrecht stressed. “Nevertheless, Central Asian countries still require substantial support from multilateral development banks, and while climate finance to the region is increasing, it remains significantly smaller compared to other low- and middle-income countries”.
Kazakhstan held a National Day of Mourning on October 29th for more than 40 people killed in a coal mine fire in the central Qaraghandy region, the deadliest such accident in the country’s post-Soviet history. The death toll has now risen to 45, with the recovery of two additional bodies, rescue official Gennady Silinsky said. Some 252 people were underground at the Kostenko mine when the fire struck in the early hours of October 28th, said operating company, ArcelorMittal, the world’s second-largest steel producer. Authorities said an evacuation had been ordered after the fire broke out, but that an explosion occurred before many workers could reach safety. The blast could be felt more than two kilometers away, Silinsky told a news briefing. On October 28th, the Government of Kazakhstan confirmed the nationalization of the local branch of the steel giant, ArcelorMittal Temirtau, which operates the country’s largest steel plants and several coal and ore mines. In a statement, Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov said that the government had reached a preliminary agreement with the company's shareholders, and was now in the process of “formalizing” the nationalization. ArcelorMittal confirmed it had signed a “preliminary agreement for a transaction that will transfer ownership to the Republic of Kazakhstan”. The company said it "will commit to finalizing this transaction as soon as possible”. The Office of Kazakhstan’s Prosecutor-General announced a probe into potential safety violations at the Kostenko mine. It was the second deadly incident at an ArcelorMittal site in Kazakhstan this year, after five miners were killed in an accident at a mine in the same region in August. ArcelorMittal's operations in the resource-rich Central Asian country have regularly been accused by authorities of failing to respect safety and environmental regulations.
At least 21 people were killed when a fire broke out at a mine in Kazakhstan operated by the global steel giant ArcelorMittal on October 28th, prompting President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to order an "end to investment cooperation" with the company, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. A local unit of the company, ArcelorMittal Temirtau, said in a statement that 252 people were underground at the Kostenko mine in the central Qaraghandy region when the fire struck. It said 208 miners had been evacuated, with 18 seeking medical help, while 23 people had not been accounted for. There was no immediate comment about the cause of the incident. This was the second deadly event at an ArcelorMittal site in Kazakhstan this year, after five miners were killed at a mine in the same region in August. Tokayev, who expressed condolences to the victims' families, said "the government has ordered an end to investment cooperation with ArcelorMittal”. The president said an investigative commission will be set up to determine the cause of the blaze. ArcelorMittal operates around a dozen mines in Kazakhstan. The company's operations in the resource-rich Central Asian country have regularly been accused by authorities of failing to respect safety and environmental regulations. Following the incident in August at an ArcelorMittal coal mine, Tokayev denounced the "systemic character" of accidents involving the company that he said has left more than a hundred people dead in Kazakhstan since 2006. In December 2022, Astana threatened to ban ArcelorMittal from operating in the country after a worker died in what the company labeled an accident at its factory in Temirtau.
