KAZAKHSTAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Arman Bigazin, Mikhail Abdulov, Olzhas Abubakirov and Lidiya Sayenko, Haller Lomax LLP
• the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Conven- tion on Climate Change. Ratified international treaties take precedence over national laws. Kazakhstan is also engaged in co-operation with other international and regional organisations in the field of environmental protection, including agreements with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia, as well as the Asian Forest Cooperation Organisation, aimed at promoting sustainable devel- opment and growth in Kazakhstan. Environmental Law Principles In Kazakhstan, environmental law is based on the fol- lowing ten key principles (as listed and explained in more detail in Article 5 of the Environmental Code):
• the Strategy for Achieving Carbon Neutrality in the Republic of Kazakhstan by 2060 (approved by the president in 2023); and • the National Development Plan of the Republic of Kazakhstan until 2029 (approved by the president in 2024); and • Concept for the Development of Ecological Culture “Taza Qazaqstan” for 2024–2029 (approved by the government in 2024). Kazakhstan is currently developing an updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0). The working group established for these purposes shall develop a draft of the updated Nationally Determined Contribution and submit it to the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan by 1 November 2025. In Kazakhstan, environmental policy-making and regulatory competencies are mostly centralised at national level, while enforcement competencies are divided between the central and municipal authori- ties. At the national level, the primary “policymaker” is the government of Kazakhstan; its powers include the development of the main directions of the state environmental policy and approval of certain princi- pal regulatory legal acts in the field of environmental protection. Such environmental regulatory acts, how- ever, are commonly drafted by the Ministry of Envi- ronment and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan (MENR). Municipal executive authorities ( akimats) also act as local enforcement agents in the respective territorial units ‒ for example, by issuing local environmental permits and regulating municipal The MENR is the central executive authority respon- sible for enforcing the state environmental policy and providing leadership and intersectoral co-ordination in the field of environmental protection, meteorologi- cal and hydrological monitoring. The MENR adopts a multi-pronged approach to co-operation, both on a national and international scale, particularly: waste management. 2.2 Co-Operation 2. Enforcement Authorities and Mechanisms 2.1 Regulatory Authorities
• the prevention principle; • the remediation principle; • the precautionary principle; • the proportionality principle; • the “polluter pays” principle; • the sustainable development principle; • the integration principle; • the access to information principle; • the public participation principle; and • the principle of the ecosystem approach. Environmental Policy
The country’s environmental goals, priorities and tar- get indicators can be set in policy papers as approved by the president or the government from time to time. By way of example, the following strategic documents are in effect: • the Concept of Transition of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Green Economy (approved by the President in 2013); • the National Project “Green Kazakhstan” (approved by the government in 2021); • the Nationally Determined Contribution of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the global response to climate change (approved by government in 2023);
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