Azerbaijan among key players in global "Green Transition," says Economy Minister

Azerbaijan has emerged as one of the key participants in the global "green transition," which is considered a top priority by nations around the world, Azernews reports.

Speaking at an international conference on carbon assessment in Baku, organized by the State Tax Service, Azerbaijan’s Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov highlighted the country's climate goals and initiatives. Azernews reports his remarks:

"The close alignment of our country's climate change goals with global challenges has already created a certain experience for us. The 'green projects' we have implemented with large energy companies are designed to transform our country into a 'clean energy' country and encourage investments that support ecological balance."

Jabbarov pointed to Azerbaijan's commitments under its "Strategy of Socio-Economic Development for 2022-2026," which include increasing the share of renewable energy in the power grid and expanding waste recycling efforts. He also noted that during COP29, the State Oil Company (SOCAR) voluntarily committed to reducing methane emissions to zero.

"When talking about our agenda, we should also mention that the transition to alternative energy sources is one of our priorities. Azerbaijan is one of the countries with a high potential for renewable energy sources. We have attracted foreign investments in this sector, we are building solar and wind power plants," Jabbarov added.

He emphasized that the country is actively exploring opportunities in low-carbon technologies, green hydrogen, biofuels, and reducing methane emissions. "More than 8 GW of onshore and offshore energy projects will be realized at the expense of foreign investment," the minister noted, signaling the significant role of external partnerships in Azerbaijan's renewable energy future.

Minister also emphasised that Azerbaijan's agenda is to assess the role of fiscal instruments in the process of decarbonization.

"It will be effective for us to discuss this with representatives of a number of prestigious international organizations, as well as the representatives of the member countries of the Intra-European Organization of Tax Administrations (IOTA)," he said.

"One of the main initiatives on the agenda of the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) is the creation of the Action Fund for Climate Finance. This Fund can play an important role in eliminating the existing gaps in climate finance. The fund's capital is mainly fossil fuel-producing countries, as well as companies engaged in oil, gas, and coal production. The main goal of the fund is to invest in climate action in developing countries, as well as in small island countries, and in countries with fossil fuel reserves and those operating in this sector, to increase the contribution of enterprises to the 'green transition,'" added the minister.