QAZAQ GREEN. At a recent committee meeting in the Mazhilis, the lower house of Kazakhstan’s Parliament, MP Vera Kim raised questions about the country's renewable energy plans, reports inbusiness.kz.

Kim reminded attendees that under Kazakhstan’s carbon neutrality strategy, 80% of the country’s electricity is expected to come from renewable energy sources (RES) by 2060.

"How realistic are these targets? I would like to understand how prepared the ministry is," she said. "Given Kazakhstan’s harsh climate — where winter in some regions can last more than half the year — I would also like to know whether centralized heating systems will eventually be powered by renewable energy."

Responding to the inquiry, Vice Minister of Energy Sungat Yessimkhanov noted that heating from RES remains a technological challenge.

"We are not yet able to supply heat from renewable sources on a large scale, so heating our cities entirely through RES is currently unrealistic," Yessimkhanov said. "While technologies like heat pumps and geothermal energy are being explored, they are more suitable for smaller settlements. Our major target is for 50% of electricity to come from alternative sources by 2050 — including nuclear power. We will not completely abandon coal. The focus is on developing technologies that meet environmental standards, particularly those capable of capturing CO₂ emissions."

Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov also pointed to international examples.

"Japan and South Korea are implementing technologies that co-fire coal with ammonia, which significantly reduces emissions of sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and aids in achieving carbon neutrality," he explained. "However, this technology is expensive. Plans include replacing up to 20% of coal combustion with ammonia."

According to Akkenzhenov, this approach could bring coal-fired generation emissions down to the lowest levels currently achievable.