NAKHCHIVAN, Azerbaijan, February 13. European Union (EU) supports municipalities in Azerbaijan on climate and energy policies, EU Ambassador to Azerbaijan Marijana Kujundzic said at an event on the Covenant of Mayors-Eastern Partnership (CoM East) initiative in Nakhchivan, Trend reports.
"I'm proud of the EU's support to the municipalities of Azerbaijan that are members of the Covenant of Mayors through training and methodological support, dedicated technical assistance, best practices, as well as exchange of experiences, networking, and awareness-raising," the ambassador noted.
She highlighted the role of cities in achieving concrete results in the field of climate and energy and invited municipalities to join the initiative.
"I'm pleased to invite more municipalities in Azerbaijan to join the largest movement of local governments in Europe that is fighting climate change and working to ensure a better future for their citizens. Almost 12,000 local authorities have already made voluntary commitments in the field of energy and climate, in line with the EU's vision of a climate-neutral, sustainable, and fair future for all," Kujundzic added.
The CoM East is an initiative funded by the EU and supports local and regional self-government bodies in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine in the preparation and implementation of sustainable energy and climate policies.
The first municipality to join the initiative in Azerbaijan was the Icherisheher municipality in 2012. Later, the municipalities of Ganja, Guzanli, Horadiz, Khirdalan, Mingachevir, Shamakhi, Shaki, and Yevlakh in the country also joined the Covenant of Mayors Eastern Partnership initiative and became active members. The national coordinator for the country is the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan.
The CoM East is an integral part of the Global Covenant of Mayors family. This global initiative is the world's largest alliance of cities for climate leadership and is built on the commitments of more than 13,500 cities and local authorities, representing six continents and 147 countries, with a combined population of over 1.2 billion.
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