QAZAQ GREEN.  On 2 February 2023, the UNECE and the UN Development Programme held a consultation workshop on “Strengthening energy policies of Countries with Special Needs to build back better from COVID-19”  in Astana.

Welcoming remarks were delivered by Ainur Sospanova, Chairman of the Management Board, Qazaq Green Association, Kurtmolla Abdulganiyev, Head, United Nations Resident Coordinator Office in Kazakhstan Oleg Dzioubinski, Regional Adviser, Sustainable Energy Division, UNECE,  Michael Williamson, Chief of Section, Energy Division, ESCAP.

The National Stakeholder Consultation Workshop on the Development of an SDG7 Roadmap for the Republic of Kazakhstan presented the National Expert SDG Tool for Energy Planning (NEXSTEP), which is an integrated and innovative approach to policy decision-making that combines technical, economic, and socio-environmental analysis under a methodology that has been peer-reviewed by a panel of external experts. The tool supports the development of national SDG 7 roadmaps to provide policymakers with

• scenarios that estimate the share of different energy resources and identify the technological interventions required;
• economic analyses to provide insights into feasible interventions;
• and policy analyses to guide the development of balanced national policies.

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) are implementing jointly the UNDA project “Strengthening energy policies of Countries with Special Needs to build back better from COVID-19” (January 2022-June 2025) for eight beneficiary countries. UNECE is responsible for activities in three of them: Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. The project is aimed at supporting national Kazakhstan obligations in the framework of the SDGs implementation. The main goal of the project is to develop a roadmap to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) “Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy sources for all’.