UNIPATH STAFF
Kazakhstan hosted World Expo 2017 to showcase green technology the nation considers essential to its energy security. “Future energy” was the theme of the expo that brought together 115 countries, 22 international organizations and private companies from June to September 2017.
With nearly 100 exhibition and cultural pavilions, the expo sought to stimulate global discussion and debate about green technology. Though Kazakhstan possesses abundant oil wealth, the country is committed to reducing reliance on fossil fuels, Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhamov wrote in The Diplomat, an online magazine.
“Renewable energy is at the heart of the solution to the challenge of promoting growth, creating jobs and increasing living standards while protecting our planet for future generations,” Abdrakhamov wrote. “It is a challenge which we are determined to meet head-on in Kazakhstan.”
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev aims for Kazakhstan to meet half its domestic power needs through renewable resources by 2050, Abdrakhamov wrote. “It is an ambitious target, but one which underlines our determination to build a world-class economy,” Abdrakhamov said. “It recognizes the extraordinary potential we have as a country to harness renewable resources.”
Addressing climate change with advanced technology could boost security by curbing rising temperatures and the hot summers, long droughts and severe flooding that can threaten human habitability, journalist Rene Zou wrote in the Geopolitical Monitor.
“Climate change is a nontraditional security challenge beyond the realm of military and economic power,” Zou said. “The traditional focus on notions of hard security becomes increasingly irrelevant as human security, livelihood protection and sustainable development take center stage.”
The site of the expo in Astana — the architecturally symbolic, spherical Nur Alem building — will remain in use as a research and innovation hub.
The previous World Expo was hosted by Milan, Italy, in 2015. The United Arab Emirates will host the 2020 expo in Dubai.