Budget: 18 thousand USD
Starting date: 24 August 2013
Ending date: 28 February 2014
Donors: UNEP
Partners: National Governmental Agencies, including Ministry of environment and water resources, Ministry of transport, Ministry of oil and gas, Institute for standardization and certification, independent oil expertise centre “Organic”, Administration of nature resources in Almaty city, Kazhydromet, Independent Automobile Association
Number of road vehicles in Kazakhstan has almost tripled over the past decade, following tremendous economic growth experienced by the country during this period. The rapid expansion of the road transport had consequently led to increase in respective emissions, so that the sector today is one of the major sources of air pollution in the country, especially in large cities. There is also a longstanding problem with fuel quality, and considerable part of fuels at the refueling stations all across the country does not match nominal standards and requirements.
Aiming to solve the ever-growing issue, the government had introduced several amendments into respective policy framework. The major state intervention in this regard is an introduction of sticker environmental standards for fuels and vehicles produced in and imported to Kazakhstan. The country has recently pursued other initiatives as well, such as increase of custom and road taxes for large engine vehicles, promotion of CNG and LPG as transport fuels and setting up energy efficiency requirements for vehicles.
Introduction of “Euro” standards however came across several challenges, as the result of which, their adoption has been several times postponed. It is also revealed that existing legislation imposes certain limitations for establishing robust fuel quality monitoring across the country, which exacerbates the situation.
The project aims to develop a detailed assessment of the current transport sector in Kazakhstan, including the information and trends on number and types of vehicles, fuel consumption, key problems and other issues, with an overview of vehicle-fuel economy and emission policies, fuel quality legislation as well as other relevant policies in cooperation with key project stakeholders in Kazakhstan. The project also envisages developing a road map for the introduction of stricter standards and policies on fuel economy, vehicle emission and fuel quality in Kazakhstan. The results will be shared with relevant authorities and stakeholders in Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries. The following key tasks are envisaged in the project:
- Develop a detailed assessment of the current transport sector in Kazakhstan including information and trends on number and types of vehicles, fuel consumption, key problems and other issues, with an overview of vehicle-fuel economy and emission policies, fuel quality legislation as well as other relevant related policies in Kazakhstan.
- Conduct at least three country dialogues, consultations or meetings in Kazakhstan with relevant authorities and stakeholders including the refinery industry, vehicle sector and transport experts to foster dialogue on the formulation of vehicle fuel economy, emission standards and fuel quality policies. In addition, a national workshop will be organized in consultation with UNEP to showcase the results of this SSFA.
- Develop a roadmap for the introduction of stricter standards and policies on fuel economy, vehicle emission and fuel quality in Kazakhstan. The results will be shared with relevant authorities and stakeholders in Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries.
Republic of Kazakhstan
The key project outputs are the following: