Foreword

The Committee on Statistics of the Ministry of National Economy of Kazakhstan has been working on the quantitative and qualitative indicators that monitor progress towards the country’s green economy transition. Using the OECD methodology on Green Growth Indicators (GGIs), the committee has identified 38 country-specific GGIs. The indicators include those on environmental protection expenditures and foreign direct investment related to green growth.

This report explores how Kazakhstan’s national statistical system can be further improved. These enhancements could lead to better measurement of the financial flows that contribute to the country’s green economy transition. At the same time, they would minimise the risk of creating an undue reporting burden on the private and public sector.

This report was drafted by Takayoshi Kato (OECD). Kumi Kitamori and Krzysztof Michalak (OECD) provided overall guidance. The author thanks Assel Shauenova (the Committee on Statistics), Aliya Shalabekova (the Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources) and Aday Nygmanov (JSC Center for the Development of Trade Policy) for their thorough support in the implementation of this project, and Mireille Martini (OECD) for her contribution of Annex 3. The author is grateful for intellectual input provided by various institutions of the government of Kazakhstan: the Committee on Statistics under the Ministry of National Economy; the Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources; and JSC Center for the Development of Trade Policy, as well as the Astana International Financial Centre. The report also greatly benefited from expert review and valuable input from colleagues at the OECD Secretariat: Alexander Dobrinevski, Guy Halpern, Raphaël Jachnik, Jean-François Lengelle, Krzysztof Michalak, Alexandre Martoussevitch and Nelly Petkova. The author also appreciates invaluable insights provided by Florian Flachenecker (European Commission Joint Research Centre), Myriam Linster (OECD) and Andrei Isac. Maria Dubois and Mark Foss also supported the author with the publication process.

This work was financially supported by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, and implemented under the GREEN Action Task Force hosted by the OECD.