by Yerzhan Yessimkhanov (August 2010; 6 pages) The Republic of Kazakhstan ratified the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in September 2009, taking a significant step toward participation in the protocol's market-based mechanisms, including emissions trading and incentives for foreign investment in projects that save or reduce emissions in Kazakhstan. Before the country can become a fully fledged participant in the market mechanisms and their economic benefits, however, the author says a number of legal improvements must be made, such as the creation of a national inventory of emissions and a procedure to approve emissions-reduction projects. The author also outlines Kazakhstan's status under the protocol and the larger framework convention.