EBRD president urges Kazakhstan to press ahead with natural gas projects with focus on transition fuel

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) president Odile Renaud-Basso said on September 24 that Kazakhstan must press ahead with decarbonisation projects that focus on natural gas as a transition fuel while lenders can still finance them.

Coal accounts for 70% of Kazakhstan's electric power output and cannot be quickly phased out with renewable energy sources alone. While Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has called for the construction of a nuclear power plant, the country is also looking at replacing coal-powered plants with gas turbines in the meantime.

Kazakhstan said this month it aimed to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 and that it would also take immediate steps to mitigate the impact of a planned European Union carbon tax.

"It's very difficult to shift from coal to renewables quickly and you have this intermittence issue which will need to be addressed and at that point of time we believe gas will have a role to play in the transition, in particular, for example, for district heating projects," Renaud-Basso said during a visit to Kazakhstan.

"From the country's perspective, I believe there is a sort of a window of opportunity to get support, to finance gas projects," Renaud-Basso said. "It is possible now but it may not be possible for decision-makers in a few years."