BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 5. Azerbaijan is becoming a leader in decarbonization in the region, the team leader and energy specialist at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Kangbin Zheng, said, Trend reports.
He made the remark at the presentation of a decarbonization project within the framework of cooperation between Azerbaijan Railways (ADY) and the ADB in Baku.
"A favorable business environment for decarbonization in Azerbaijan has already been created. We are talking about the legal framework, political guarantees, fiscal incentives, buyback mechanisms, market access, as well as financial and contractual protection. Compared to other countries in the region, Azerbaijan is now emerging as a leader," he emphasized.
Zheng noted that AYD is demonstrating a strong commitment to decarbonization and is taking effective action. ADY has already tried various methods: using solar energy, improving energy efficiency through modernization, and expanding electrification. The publication of the 2024 sustainability report has created a solid foundation for demonstrating ADY's actions and initial results.
“Our task now is to build on what the ADY has already achieved and accelerate the process. It's about assessing what has already been done well, what can be learned from other countries, and scaling it up over the next five years,” he added.
According to the ADB representative, one of the main areas of focus for the ADY is to increase freight and passenger traffic.
“As transport volumes increase, energy consumption naturally increases, whether it be fossil fuels or electricity. The challenges for the ADY will grow over the next five years, along with the growth in transport volumes. If measures are not taken now, this will become a serious problem in the future,” Kangbin Zheng noted.