Clean Air and Cool Planet II - Integrated Air Quality Management and Greenhouse Gas Reduction for Almaty and Nur-Sultan

This study delivers evidence of the main causes of premature deaths from air pollution in Almaty and Nur-Sultan, two major cities in Kazakhstan, and offers guidance on cost-effective solutions to prevent them while making the cities better prepared for a low-carbon future. The report provides high-level roadmaps for integrated air quality management and climate change mitigation in Almaty and Nur-Sultan to maximize synergies and manage tradeoffs. It proposes sequencing of actions until 2030 to save lives from poor air quality while facilitating the process of long-term phasing out of fossil fuels. Moreover, the report analyzes the need for policy reforms to incentivize the adoption of the proposed cost-effective integrated measures by private economic actors. This report does not analyze implementation modalities for the identified technical abatement measures or for specific fiscal policy instruments. It also does not address long-term decarbonization needs beyond 2030 but recognizes that reprioritizing policy actions slightly to maximize climate benefits may require some additional air quality management actions to address the unacceptably high burden that exposure to PM2.5 currently places on public health.