Kazakhstan
OPINION: Afghanistan’s neighbours recast refugee finance formula
Neighbouring markets could be tapped as part of the global refugee fundraising effort, and bridge the tens of billions of dollars annual gap in UN appeals.
bneGREEN: Governments still woefully short of IEA’s net-zero requirements
Governments need to smash the stubborn dominance of fossil fuels if the world is to reach net zero by 2050, despite the rapid development of green technologies, the IEA warns.
China looks to Kazakh coal amid energy crisis
But how much coal Kazakhstan already sells China is a mystery, because the two sides publish different figures.
ING: Winter is coming… and so is further volatility for energy markets
Energy prices have seen significant strength recently. European gas prices have rallied 94% during September, taking them to record levels. Oil and coal have also strengthened.
Kazakh annual CPI inflation at 8.9% in September
Food inflation is proving a serious difficulty.
New OCCRP Pandora Papers leak reveals more details of secret financial networks of New Europe’s elite
A new leak of millions of documents dubbed the Pandora Papers has revealed more details of the use of offshore companies by the elite of New Europe, detailing their ownership of hundreds of millions of dollars of assets.
bneGREEN: SEB puts $4 trillion annual price tag on net zero
SEB’s latest Green Bonds Report has placed a price of $4 trillion per year on the energy transition if the world is to reach net zero by 2050.
Kazakhstan to abandon domestic eGov platform for Russian service
Local IT experts say the plan ignores their talents and risks handing sensitive data to Russia.
Uranium: what the explosion in prices means for the nuclear industry
The primary fuel for nuclear plants was sliding for much of the 2010s, with no signs of a major turnaround. Yet since mid-August, prices have surged by around 60% as investors and speculators scramble to snap up the commodity.
Quantifying the Caucasus’ gains from BRI trade
Two new papers find that Georgia and Azerbaijan would gain more from improving trade with their neighbours than pursing a place on the Belt and Road.
ING: ECB’s push for net-zero carbon will grow ESG credit
In the push for reducing carbon, significant investment will be necessary, and in turn, funding will be required. This will provide growth for the credit market, and in particular for anything associated with ESG.
bneGREEN: Green Deal, CBAM poses high risks to poorer African, Eastern European countries
The EU’s Green Deal and Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism will hit the EU’s trading partners in Africa and non-EU Eastern Europe particularly hard.
bneGREEN: Greenwashing: regulators flex muscles as the market remains in flux
Defining a green investment is crucial to boosting the expansion of renewable energy and preventing the mis-selling of investments by so-called greenwashing, whereby the environmental impact of a product is misrepresented.
How Kazakhstan shot to number three in the crypto mining industry
Miners who fled Beijing’s crackdowns on electricity sapping operations have come to the attention of regulators that have started introducing their own curbs.
Iran cements ties with East as it becomes full member of SCO
“The world has entered a new era,” says Iranian president. “Hegemony and unilateralism are failing. The international balance is moving toward multilateralism and redistribution of power to the benefit of independent countries.”
bneGREEN: Global coal plans collapse by 76%
The global pipeline of proposed coal power plants has collapsed by 76% since the Paris Agreement in 2015, bringing the end of new coal power construction into sight, new research by green think-tank E3G finds.
bneGreen: Finland’s Betolar develops green cement as construction races to decarbonise
Finland’s Betolar is pioneering the production of low-carbon cement by using alternative industrial waste products in a process that could reduce CO2 emissions by up to 80%.
Chinese geneticists link Kyrgyz to Pakistanis, while raising thorny ethical questions
The DNA was collected in western China’s police state, Xinjiang. Could the subjects have said no without fearing retribution?
Memoir | 9/11 shifted the world. In Central Asia, diplomatic frenzy ensued
Behind the scenes with an American negotiator who helped forge a radical new level of US engagement in Central Asia after 9/11.
Process to admit Iran into Shanghai Cooperation Organisation ‘set to begin’
Islamic Republic applied to join as far back as 2008 but sanctions have hindered its path. Move to obtain membership may still meet additional obstacles.
