KARAGANDA - The Karaganda Regional Environmental Museum hosted a series of events where European experts shared their experiences on addressing climate change, reducing its impact, and developing adaptation plans.
At the round table on November 17-18, Daniel Vondrous, an advisor to the Minister of Environment of the Czech Republic, shared how some regions and cities of Europe have already implemented measures that help with adaptation to climate change and ensure the safety of the population. Kazakhstani experts also participated in the panel. Dmitry Kalmykov, the director of the EcoMuseum, talked about industry-caused air pollution and how it affects climate change.
The participants talked about the effects of climate change on people’s lives and the economy in the Karaganda Region. They discussed possible measures to reduce this impact, including renewable energy and Kazakhstan's wind and solar energy potential. How the public can take part in these critical processes.
Kazakhstan is increasingly facing problems caused by climate change. But still, more attention should be given to climate change issues at national and regional levels. Strategic documents must include measures for GHG emission reductions and adaptation to climate change. The Strategy to achieve low-carbon neutrality, which is being developed for the second year, has yet to be adopted.
The Czech environmentalists from Arnika also met with local activists and public organizations. They brainstormed ideas that could help reduce the impact of the Karaganda region on climate change and improve communities’ lives. Jiri Vidiecan, the project coordinator from the Czech NGO, concludes: “Both the people and the government have their own separate goals and ways to achieve them. It is in the government's best interest to inform civil society of the historically neglected impacts of our actions and work together instead of against each other. So the top-down and bottom-up change management can meet somewhere in the middle, and the goals are fulfilled.”
The project "Civil Society Participation in Climate Change Mitigation" implemented by Karaganda Regional Environmental Museum and Czech NGO "Arnika" with the support of the European Union, aims to fill these gaps.
Government officials and the public have a unique opportunity to use the international experience to mitigate the effects of climate change and reduce the impact of industrial pollution on the region's ecological systems.
