As a major player in the energy industry and with a key role in driving the green energy transition, we are delighted to report that our CCO, Frederic Barnaud, and the Environmental Products team joined COP28 as guests of the delegation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
What is COP28?
This is the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The COP event is an international climate summit, which is held annually, where world leaders gather to work together on solutions to tackle climate change. There are now 198 Parties (197 countries plus the European Union) to the Convention, constituting near universal membership.
The invitation followed the Environmental Products Team’s recent origination activities in Central Asia. The EP Origination Team are constantly exploring opportunities to partner in the development of high-quality carbon crediting projects globally, across project types, developers and issuing standards, in order to build a portfolio of offsetting options for SEFE’s own emissions abatement requirements, and those of its clients. The team have been developing a partnership with one of the leading afforestation companies, which caught the attention of the Kazakh President due to its alignment with his target to plant 2 billion trees domestically by 2025.
At COP, Frederic executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on behalf of SEFE with the Kazakh partners, who acknowledged the strategic importance of the expertise that SEFE could offer the partnership and carbon project development in Kazakhstan more generally.
The MoU expresses intent to scale a pilot 3500 hectares afforestation project to 30,000 hectares in the coming years, helping the Republic to improve local climate and biodiversity and benefit local communities. The signing event was part of a signing ceremony celebrating key Kazakh agreements as identified by the Kazakh government and presided over by the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokaev.
SEFE signed two further MoUs during COP, with one demonstrating interest in developing a range of carbon crediting projects in Kazakhstan, including landfill gas utilisation, decarbonisation of the transport sector, energy efficiency in construction and rangeland management. The other MoU was forged with an African project developer, expressing interest in a partnership to scale their distribution of solar panels to local communities in Senegal, Ghana and Kenya.
Chairman of the Presidium of National Chamber of Entrepreneurs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, said:
“The tasks outlined by the President of Kazakhstan in the environmental sphere have the highest priority and define Kazakhstan’s role in the global climate agenda. Kazakhstan has a huge potential for decarbonisation projects and ESG investment by corporate business. I believe that Kazakhstan needs as many such business initiatives as possible, as demonstrated today.”
Afforestation partner also welcomed the new opportunity, with CEO and Founder saying:
“We are excited about the launch of the afforestation pilot project and the strategic partnership with SEFE. We have already started pre-project surveys to scale up the project scenario. I am confident that co-operation with SEFE will be long-term and fruitful. Together we aim to create long-term green assets for future generations.”
Frederic commented:
“Our participation in environmental initiatives such as these, alongside the recent establishment of Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions targets for the Group, demonstrates our commitment to our ESG responsibilities and our ongoing engagement with the global community in accelerating the reduction and removal of carbon emissions.
“The signing of the MoU and our involvement in COP28 cements SEFE’s position as a leader in the industry as well as highlighting our role a strategic partner for carbon projects in the region.”
For enquiries, please feel free to contact Nathan Dixon, VP of Environmental Products directly.
You can find out more about our ESG strategy here.
