As stated by the EBRD, the Government of Kazakhstan (GoK), together with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), seeks to better understand the role the country's wastewater sector can play in its climate mitigation strategy. Methane, a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) with a global warming potential significantly higher than that of carbon dioxide, is commonly emitted from wastewater management processes, or lack thereof, due to the anaerobic decomposition of organic matter. While much of Kazakhstan's methane emissions are associated with fossil fuel production, the country's wastewater sector is a further contributor. As part of Kazakhstan's strategy to reduce GHG, the country has recently joined the Global Methane Pledge (GMP), an initiative aimed at reducing global methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030.

Kazakhstan's Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources (MENR) and the EBRD have signed an MoU to collaborate on reducing GHG emissions, including methane from wastewater management. The country's wastewater sector is improving as the GoK recognizes the environmental and economic benefits of such investments. Considering the substantial investment needs, the EBRD is supporting the Ministry of Industry and Construction (MIC) by investing into the rehabilitation and construction of new wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). Recent examples are the provision of loans to modernise WWTPs in Aktobe (signed 2023) and Shymkent (signed 2022), as well as an existing pipeline of WWTPs in preparation.

As part of the support, this assignment will explore how investments into the wastewater sector can contribute to the country's commitment under the GMP. An important example for this is the application of sludge management technologies such as anaerobic digestion (AD) and biogas utilisation, which yield both methane reductions as well as operational benefits from onsite energy generation.

The objective of this assignment is to provide the GoK with a comprehensive understanding of methane emissions in the wastewater sector and identify mitigation opportunities that contribute to the GMP. This will be achieved by assisting the MENR to:

(a) establish a baseline for methane emissions in the wastewater sector;
(b) identify opportunities for emission mitigation;
(c) develop specific activities under the GMP.

And by assisting the MIC to enhance their understanding of:

(a) the country's WWTP inventory and identify suitable sites for methane reduction initiatives;
(b) modern WWTP technologies and international good practice;
(c) access to national and international financial resources to support WWTP roll-out.

Information on the investment amount not provided at the time of disclosure.

No project contacts provided at the time of disclosure.

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The Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the PCM, it may assess compliance with EBRD's own policies and procedures to prevent harm to the environment or communities or it may assist you in resolving the problem that led to the complaint through a dialogue with those implementing the project. Additionally, the PCM has the authority to recommend a project be suspended in the event that harm is imminent.

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