AIFC Green Finance Centre put forward the idea of creating a Eurasian hydrogen consortium

CEO of the AIFC Green Finance Centre, Head of the AIFC Project Office for Cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Commission Kazybayev Aidar Kalymtaevich spoke at the Plenary session of the VIII Moscow International Financial and Economic Forum dedicated to the theme “Building bridges, not walls. Business Eurasia in a New Reality”.

The Forum, organized by the Financial and Business Association of Eurasian Cooperation, was attended by representatives of international development institutions and financial and economic associations, heads of industry unions, top managers of leading Russian and foreign companies and organizations, experts in the field of economics and finance, representatives of the banking and insurance community, investment and commercial structures of the EAEU, EU, BRICS and SCO member states.

Welcoming the participants of the Forum on behalf of the Governor of the AIFC K.N.Kelimbetov, Aidar Kazybayev noted the need to unite the efforts of the countries of the Eurasian region in the context of the new climate agenda. The Climate Summit held in Glasgow outlined three important vectors. Firstly, joint actions of all participating countries are needed to ensure low-carbon development and decarbonization of economies, secondly, it is necessary to ensure the availability of green technologies, green finance primarily for emerging markets, and thirdly, to increase the role of international development institutions in the transformation to a green economy.

In this regard, A. Kazybayev proposed specific areas that are promising for the business partnership of the Eurasian countries, including “Production of components for renewable energy facilities”, “Low-carbon industrial cooperation in the EAEU (coal enrichment, green technology parks)”, “Greenhouse gas capture and storage technologies and forest-climate projects”.

Also, A. Kazybayev put forward the idea of creating a Eurasian hydrogen Consortium, the purpose of which will be to unite the scientific, technological, financial, and production resources of the countries to ensure the availability of “green” hydrogen.

Speaking about the advantages of the Astana International Financial Centre, Aidar Kazybayev proposed to create an “ESG club” at the Centre’s site.

The AIFC is a good platform for innovative projects, as evidenced by more than 1100 companies from 60 countries registered and operating in the AIFC. For example, this year the first joint Eurasian company was created – the Eurasian Export Jewelry Bureau, which is registered on the territory of the AIFC, and the issue of creating other integration companies is also being discussed.

Reference:

Astana International Financial Centre was established on the initiative of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Elbasy Nursultan Nazarbayev as part of the National Plan “100 steps to implement five institutional reforms”. On July 2, 2020, as part of the meeting of the AIFC Management Council, the Center’s Development Strategy was adopted until 2025.

According to it, the vision of the AIFC is to become a leading international financial centre in the region, including Central Asia, the Caucasus, the EAEU countries, Western China, Mongolia and Eastern Europe.

The mission of AIFC is to promote the sustainable long-term development of the region. As the Head of State noted, K.Tokayev, “The AIFC with its unique capabilities can act as a universal platform connecting the countries of the region”. www.aifc.kz

The AIFC Green Finance Centre is a subsidiary organisation of the AIFC Authority and the Eurasian Development Bank, aimed at introduction and development of sustainable finance instruments and attracting of investments in environmental and social projects in Kazakhstan and Central Asia.

The AIFC Green Finance Centre supported the very first issuance of green bonds and first verified green loan in Kazakhstan. Also, the Centre introduced definitions of green finance and green taxonomy (a classifier of economic activities and projects that meet technical selection criteria) in the national environmental legislation. The new legislation provides incentives for entrepreneurs who use green finance instruments. gfc.aifc.kz