Climate Science's Role in Central Asia's Fight Against Climate Change Discussed at Thematic Session of Regional Environmental Summit

Kazakhstan unites science, AI, and policy to combat climate change

A meeting organized by Kazakhstan's Ministry of Science and Higher Education placed a spotlight on the role of academic and scientific communities in shaping regional climate solutions. The event, held as part of the Regional Environmental Summit, featured speeches by Minister of Science and Higher Education Sayasat Nurbek, Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Mansur Oshurbayev, UK Ambassador to Kazakhstan Sally Axworthy, Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Jim Skea, and Director of the UN Library and Archives in Geneva Charlotte Varakolle, among others.

In his opening remarks, Sayasat Nurbek emphasized that academic institutions must serve as the foundation for strategic forecasting and interdisciplinary research, highlighting Kazakhstan's leadership in this field. Artificial intelligence is now seen as a powerful tool for development, and Kazakhstan has become one of the first countries in the world to make AI a mandatory component of educational curricula.

Thanks to the domestic AI-Sana system, over 600,000 students have already completed AI certification courses developed in partnership with Google, Huawei, Nvidia, OpenAI, and other tech giants.

Every student gains practical AI skills, and many are already creating their own tools. One such example is a project by Farabi University, where young scientists, in collaboration with Kazhydromet, are developing an advanced AI-powered bot for precise weather and flood forecasting.

Additionally, Almaty hosts a regional glaciological center that conducts meteorological research and collects environmental data. Using these archives and AI capabilities, Kazakhstani experts analyze how the environment is changing and which urgent challenges require immediate solutions.

"Today, the climate agenda is not just about ecology—it is also about economic resilience, regional competitiveness, and people's quality of life. In this context, the scientific community plays a pivotal role in generating solutions. Without this foundation, systemic and effective climate measures are impossible," said Mansur Oshurbayev, stressing the importance of cooperation between government, science, and business.

Sally Axworthy agreed that the climate crisis poses not only environmental but also economic challenges, adding one critical point: the long-term success of climate action depends on the quality of the solutions developed. It is essential to create projects and research based on evidence—not formalism—if meaningful progress is to be achieved.