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An in-depth national study on ICT infrastructure deployment with road transport and energy infrastructure in Kazakhstan : part I
Get PDFThe telecommunications sector in Kazakhstan is one of the most advanced in the North and Central Asia region. Significant efforts have been made to develop the information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure with existing fibre-optic communications lines located along main highways and major cities. Telecommunications services are generally affordable, and as a result, a relatively high percentage of its population has access to broadband services.
Some main telecommunications trends observed are:
- A decline in the number of fixed-line subscribers due to the dominance of the mobile segment;
- A reduction in mobile cellular subscribers as the mobile market reaches saturation point;
- A decrease in the number of active SIM cards;
- An increase in the number of mobile Internet users, driven by a mature mobile market;
- A growth in mobile Internet penetration; and
- A rise in the number of personal computers and smartphones.
These trends have increased access to the Internet and raised demand for telecommunications services, which requires the building and expansion of the fibre-optic network to deliver broadband connectivity, particularly in rural areas. Given the country’s vast territory and low population density, with almost half of the population living in rural areas, the provision of broadband access to all is a challenge.
See also Toolkit for ICT infrastructure co-deployment with road transport and energy infrastructure : part II</p
Wind energy : resource assessment handbook
Get PDFWind Resource availability needs to evaluated very thoroughly before any big plans are made for utilisation both for small or big applications. Often, this is not the case. It is essential to have a very carefully thought out implementation program the first step of which is the detailed resource assessment program. The Indian Wind Energy program realised this need quite early and developed an independent resource measurement program. When this was done, wind mills and wind turbines had a modest hub height of 10 to 20 meters. It was and is a standard meteorological practice to mountanemometers at an elevation of 10 meters above ground level. What started as a rather innocuousscientific measurement program got extended to the entire country over a span of two decades. Being a government sponsored project response time to changing circumstances and expectations appeared to be inadequate. However, the program did give a better starting point for large scale deployment. The lessons learnt in the process can be profitably used in designing future country specific measurement programs elsewhere. A good estimate of country wide possibilities including extreme weather conditions is an absolute minimum requirement before one embarking on deploying wind turbine hardware. If, for example, wind speeds never cross say 5 m/s at an elevation of 20 m agl, wind power hardware would give precious little energy over a year. If a wind turbine is rated at 10 kW, it would be delivering on an average of 1.5 to 2 kW equivalent powers over the year. Unless other resources are very expensive or not available at all, it may not make sense to deploy the hardware anyway. One example is the need to transport fuel oil to islands for electricity generation. The subsidy Government will have to provide to make it affordable will be so high that a RE technology device can pay for itself in a much shorter time. Another important consideration will be the extreme wind conditions that the machine will be expected to take in its stride. This aspect needs to be paid much attention. Wind Energy convertors normally have an upper limit specified. It has to be adhered to. </p
Progress of NDC implementation in Asia-Pacific : methodological framework and preliminary findings
Get PDFAsia and Pacific countries have made major commitments to implement the UN’s Paris Agreement of 2015, in particular
through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
ESCAP, UNEP and Greenwerk have just released preliminary findings of the assessment of progress of NDC
implementation in Asia-Pacific which provides a methodology for understanding the ambition of the NDC commitments,
as well as an initial assessment of what factors might be enabling certain countries to progress and holding others back
from implementing the commitments they have already made, and recommendations for how to increase such ambition.
Though initially stalled by the COVID-19 lockdowns during the first half of 2020, the cumulative GHG emissions in Asia-
Pacific have risen to just below 35 GtCO2 by the end of the year and are almost equal to the regional record of 36.7 GtCO2
in 2019.
Projected GHG emissions growth to 50 GtCO2 by 2060 reveals that the NDC commitments of the countries in the Asia-
Pacific region are falling short to support Paris Agreement targets.
However, seven countries in the region submitted updated NDCs in 2020, and eight countries in Asia and the Pacific
region, including Bhutan, China, Fiji, Japan, Marshall Islands, New Zealand, Singapore, Republic of Korea have now
announced 2050 carbon neutrality targets, and China by 2060 or earlier.
It is imperative for the other regional countries to follow suit with ambitious pledges and NDC reviews in 2021. Those can
be aligned with green and inclusive, pro-poor post-COVID-19 recovery strategies for achieving both human and planetary
health.
However, the assessment also reveals that there are significant institutional barriers to doing so in many countries in the
region.
The weakest spot is financing of NDC implementation in the Asia-Pacific region with less than 25 per cent of the
countries having sufficient financial frameworks in place.
Almost half of the countries are just in the early stages of estimating financial needs for climate action and allocating
budgets for this in sectoral ministries and most are yet to establish means of engaging and driving the private sector to
act.
While most countries in the region have laws or other legal provisions to support climate action only nine have laws that
relate to emissions reductions targets. Countries also have mixed experience of integrating climate change into national
development plans, and 35 countries are still behind in terms of basic abilities to monitoring and verifying their emissions
levels.
The analysis further suggests that these “enabling factors” are intertwined and mutually reinforcing, and that while
countries in the Pacific Small Island Developing states and North and Central Asian regions seem to be struggling the
most, countries with relatively higher emissions are stepping up efforts to improving enabling instruments and policies
than others.
The assessment report therefore concludes that there is a significant need in the region not just to simply push for higher
ambition targets – including as part of a “green recovery” from COVID19 but to also work on advancing key enabling
factors which can form the basis for more action. The faster these enabling factors are put into place in 2021, including
through regional cooperation and sharing experiences, the faster countries in the region will implement the Paris
Agreement and “build forward”
Promoting an enabling environment for the private sector for sustainable agricultural mechanization
Get PDFThis policy brief is an outcome of the discussions and contributions received at the ‘Sixth Regional Forum on Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization in Asia and the Pacific’ held in Wuhan, China, during 25-27 October 2018. Focusing on the theme of ‘Enabling Environment for the Private Sector’, the Sixth Regional Forum was organized by CSAM in collaboration with China Agricultural Machinery Distribution Association (CAMDA), China Agricultural Mechanization Association (CAMA), and China Association of Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers (CAAMM). It was attended by 150 participants from 17 countries including policymakers, academics, researchers, extension workers, and representatives from the private sector, industry associations, as well as relevant international and regional organizations
Regional integration for sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific : ESCAP digital and sustainable regional integration index and indicator framework : DigiSRII 1.0
No full textThe ESCAP Digital and Sustainable Regional Integration Index (DigiSRII), is an attempt to bring together the various dimensions of regional integration while also accounting for the growing importance of digital and sustainable development. Rather than emphasizing methodological issues related to developing the index and aggregating very different indicators, the work focuses on developing a global indicator framework for digital and sustainable regional integration, inspired by the indicator framework established to monitor progress of implementation of the sustainable development goals. The approach of DigiSRII recognizes that policymakers in different economies and regions may prioritize different areas of regional integration. As such, very simple aggregation techniques are adopted in building the index, making the index as transparent as possible, and providing a basis for policy analysts and makers to develop their own version using the underlying data, as they see fit
FIJI : energy and transport data audit and data management assessment for electrification of the transport sector. Final report
Get PDFThis is the final report on an Energy and Transport Data Audit and Data Collection Strategy to support planning for the electrification of the transport sector in Fiji (The Strategy is also called the Data Framework and Strategy, or DFS).
The project was undertaken with the kind co-operation and assistance of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (MOIT), and in particular the Transport Planning Unit (TPU) and the Department of Energy (DOE) of MOIT.
Adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) for land transport was one of the main strategies for reducing emissions identified in the Low Energy Development Strategy 2018-2050. Electrification may also have a more limited role in reducing maritime emissions. The aim of the project is to help provide a policy and planning bridge between the present situation and the first stage of the LEDS strategy
State of the space industry in Central Asia : policy brief, achievements, challenges and perspective
No full textThe space industry and space applications have been developing in every Central Asian country during the last 30 years. Each state’s legislative and technological base has evolved to a certain unique extent. Every country of the region actively utilizes satellite-derived Earth Observation data, as well as the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) signals. Development of the space industry in Central Asia is impossible without international cooperation in the domain of space applications, as well as in servicing orbital and terrestrial infrastructure. Creation of a comprehensive legislative framework is a vital prerequisite for successful international cooperation. This publication aims to review the regulatory instruments of each country, to identify key legislative and executive stakeholders and to formulate a list of organizational and legal recommendations in the national, regional and global contexts. The research covers nine countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Состояние космической отрасли в странах Центральной Азии государственная политика: достижения, вызовы и перспективы
За последние тридцать лет в странах Центральной Азии ускорилось развитие космической промышленности и сферы применения космических технологий. В итоге в каждой стране региона появилась своя уникальная законодательная и техническая база. Все государства региона активно используют данные дистанционного зондирования Земли (ДЗЗ), а также сигналы глобальных навигационных спутниковых систем (ГНСС). Развитие космической отрасли в Центральной Азии невозможно без международного сотрудничества в областях применения космических технологий и обслуживания орбитальной и наземной инфраструктуры. Создание всеобъемлющей законодательной базы - важная предпосылка для осуществления успешного международного сотрудничества. Эта публикация создаётся с целью сделать обзор регуляторных инструментов каждой страны, перечислить ключевых игроков космической отрасли и составить список организационных и юридических рекомендаций в национальном, региональном и глобальном контексте. Исследование охватывает девять стран, а именно Азербайджан, Армению, Грузию, Казахстан, Кыргызстан, Монголию, Таджикистан, Туркменистан и Узбекиста
Changing sails : accelerating regional actions for sustainable oceans in Asia and the Pacific
No full textThe ocean and its resources are the lifelines of Asia and the Pacific. As a resource for the economy, livelihoods and identity for coastal communities, the condition of the ocean is inextricably linked to the pathways of sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific.
Produced in line with the 76th Session of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the theme study Changing Sails: Accelerating Regional Actions for Sustainable Oceans in Asia and the Pacific explores the key areas around which regional platforms can rally interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral solutions for the ocean. It highlights the lack of data and statistics on the ocean, the growing demand for moving towards inclusive and green maritime shipping, deteriorating fish stocks and gaps in fisheries management and the mounting pressure of marine plastic pollution.
The theme study calls for enhanced sharing of ocean data and stronger investment in national statistical systems for collecting and harmonizing ocean data. It underscores the need for enforcing international conventions, norms and standards in relation to maritime shipping, sustainable fisheries and marine pollution. Finally, it proposes strengthening regional platforms, such as the Asia-Pacific Day for the Ocean as avenues for building partnerships, facilitating knowledge and data-sharing and supporting the implementation and monitoring of global agreements.
See: Launch of the 76th Commission Session theme study: Changing Sails</a
Urban Nexus approach : integrating and strengthening city efforts towards national and local climate actions
No full textThe Paris Agreement on climate change set ambitious targets to hold the increase of global average temperature to well below 2oC above pre-industrial levels (Article 2) and strengthen efforts to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5oC above pre-industrial levels. To achieve these ambitious targets, the Paris Agreement requests all parties to implement domestic mitigation measures (Article 4). Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) on greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets and their implementation are expected to play a major role in achieving the global climate targets.
The Asia-Pacific region is the world’s largest regional emitter of GHGs, accounting for more than 50 per cent of total global emissions1. Urban areas in the region have huge carbon footprints, as they are responsible for most of the region’s economic production. The region’s cities are expanding both in size and number at an unprecedented rate. Since 2000, urban population has increased by 630 million, and by 2018 Asia-Pacific cities housed almost half of the world’s urban population. It is projected that two out of three people in the region will live in its cities by 20502 . Rapid growth in GHG emissions from cities can be expected as a result of increasing concentration of production activities in urban areas and high-consumption lifestyles associated with growing affluence. In addition, cities are most vulnerable to climate change and already experiencing its impacts, as well as disasters resulting from floods, droughts, landslides and strong typhoons.
Actions by and in Asia-Pacific cities will be critical to achieving the 1.5oC/2oC global targets as well as national and local climate change targets. The importance of actions by and in cities has been acknowledged in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted in 2015, as well as the New Urban Agenda, endorsed by the UN General Assembly in 2016. Targets of SDG 11 on sustainable cities and human settlements relevant to climate change mitigation and adaptation include sustainable transport systems, green buildings, and reduction of environmental impacts of cities. The New Urban Agenda also includes specific commitments to reduce GHG emissions in all relevant sectors in line with the Paris Agreement