Kazakhstan
bneGREEN: EU MEPs back binding methane targets
In a resolution on the EU’s strategy for cutting methane emissions, MEPs voted 563 to 122 in favour of introducing binding measures and targets on methane abatement, in order to significantly reduce emissions by 2030, in line with Paris goals.
Kazakh industrial output up 2.7% in first nine months
Oil output fell 3.4% y/y but ore mining grew 15%.
wiiw hikes 2021 CEE growth forecast to 5.4%
Growth is predicted to fall to 3.7% in 2022 and 3.5% in 2023 because of base effects, monetary tightening and more significant external headwinds.
Russia’s coronavirus spike threatens the whole region
Vaccine scepticism means just under a third of the Russian population is vaccinated and the government admitted last week that it had “lost the information campaign” to persuade its people to take the pandemic seriously.
ING: Growing metals demand & the issue of emissions
The energy transition provides a great opportunity for the metals industry. Investment in clean energy technologies will boost metals demand. However, while the sector will play a crucial role, it will need to address its own emissions.
Perspectives | Russia’s (not so free) trade agenda
Recurring import bans by the Russian agricultural watchdog attest to a problem with Moscow’s idea of free trade.
OPINION: Afghanistan’s neighbours recast refugee finance formula
Neighbouring markets could be tapped as part of the global refugee fundraising effort, and bridge the tens of billions of dollars annual gap in UN appeals.
bneGREEN: Governments still woefully short of IEA’s net-zero requirements
Governments need to smash the stubborn dominance of fossil fuels if the world is to reach net zero by 2050, despite the rapid development of green technologies, the IEA warns.
China looks to Kazakh coal amid energy crisis
But how much coal Kazakhstan already sells China is a mystery, because the two sides publish different figures.
ING: Winter is coming… and so is further volatility for energy markets
Energy prices have seen significant strength recently. European gas prices have rallied 94% during September, taking them to record levels. Oil and coal have also strengthened.
Kazakh annual CPI inflation at 8.9% in September
Food inflation is proving a serious difficulty.
New OCCRP Pandora Papers leak reveals more details of secret financial networks of New Europe’s elite
A new leak of millions of documents dubbed the Pandora Papers has revealed more details of the use of offshore companies by the elite of New Europe, detailing their ownership of hundreds of millions of dollars of assets.
bneGREEN: SEB puts $4 trillion annual price tag on net zero
SEB’s latest Green Bonds Report has placed a price of $4 trillion per year on the energy transition if the world is to reach net zero by 2050.
Kazakhstan to abandon domestic eGov platform for Russian service
Local IT experts say the plan ignores their talents and risks handing sensitive data to Russia.
Uranium: what the explosion in prices means for the nuclear industry
The primary fuel for nuclear plants was sliding for much of the 2010s, with no signs of a major turnaround. Yet since mid-August, prices have surged by around 60% as investors and speculators scramble to snap up the commodity.
Quantifying the Caucasus’ gains from BRI trade
Two new papers find that Georgia and Azerbaijan would gain more from improving trade with their neighbours than pursing a place on the Belt and Road.
ING: ECB’s push for net-zero carbon will grow ESG credit
In the push for reducing carbon, significant investment will be necessary, and in turn, funding will be required. This will provide growth for the credit market, and in particular for anything associated with ESG.
bneGREEN: Green Deal, CBAM poses high risks to poorer African, Eastern European countries
The EU’s Green Deal and Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism will hit the EU’s trading partners in Africa and non-EU Eastern Europe particularly hard.
bneGREEN: Greenwashing: regulators flex muscles as the market remains in flux
Defining a green investment is crucial to boosting the expansion of renewable energy and preventing the mis-selling of investments by so-called greenwashing, whereby the environmental impact of a product is misrepresented.
How Kazakhstan shot to number three in the crypto mining industry
Miners who fled Beijing’s crackdowns on electricity sapping operations have come to the attention of regulators that have started introducing their own curbs.
