BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 27. Azerbaijan is expected to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 45 million tons of CO2 equivalent by 2030, compared to around 43 million tons of CO2 equivalent in 2019, Trend reports via the CAREC Energy Outlook 2030, prepared by the experts of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
"By submitting a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), Azerbaijan demonstrated its commitment to combating climate change. Azerbaijan set an ambitious target of achieving a 35 percent reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 in comparison to the 1990 level," the report said.
Moreover, during the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Azerbaijan announced enhanced goals above its NDC to reduce GHG emissions by 40 percent by 2050 compared to the base year.
However, as the ADB noted, the new target can only be achieved under the Green Growth scenario, with the help of substantial investments, as well as strong policy adjustments. The course of current actions (the business-as-usual (BAU) scenario), as well as existing official commitments (the Government Commitments scenario), are not sufficient to meet the NDC target.
"Numerically, the projected energy-related carbon emissions constitute approximately 55 million tons of CO2 equivalent in 2030 under the BAU scenario, 49 million tons under the Government Commitments scenario, and 43 million tons under the Green Growth scenario," the report said.
At the same time, this indicates the urgent need for the Government to take measures to improve efficiency and reduce losses, especially in the natural gas system.