Kazakhstan’s power sector is at a crossroads, a point where the government wants to diversify and reduce CO2 emissions. Nuclear power is viewed as at least a partial solution to existing challenges, and officials have taken the first step toward building a reactor by scheduling a nationwide referendum. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced the referendum in late June without scheduling a specific date for it.
“While developing green energy, the United States, the European Union, Japan, and South Korea are at the same time trying to limit Russia’s role in the nuclear industry, and we could find ourselves caught between two fires,” Nee told Eurasianet.