BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 13. Deputy Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan Sahib Mammadov announced this week the country's intention to launch new climate finance initiatives within the framework of COP29 (the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change), which will be held in Baku on November 11–24, Trend reports.
He made the remark during a meeting of the Joint Steering Committee for the implementation of the Framework Document for Cooperation in the Field of Sustainable Development between the UN and Azerbaijan for 2021-2025, held on April 8.
According to him, the above initiatives will differ from previous ones and will be based on a large number of requests from international organizations and companies for the exchange of experience on carbon tax and carbon trading.
Mammadov said that funds under the auspices of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change are not sufficiently capitalized.
He noted that there are currently about 73 public or partially public climate funds around the world, and their activities are not effectively coordinated.
In his opinion, the organization of a platform in Azerbaijan on which the most pressing problems of humanity are discussed confirms our country’s position as a responsible partner in resolving global issues and will open a new page in the country’s relations with the UN.
The deputy minister also said that COP29 can serve as an important platform for promoting the 18th national sustainable development project, and in particular, with the help of COP29, stakeholders can be more widely informed about the implementation of projects based on the concepts of carbon neutrality in the Karabakh and Eastern Zangazur economic regions.
UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan, Vladanka Andreeva, noted that the UNFCCC (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) is closely working with Azerbaijan on the organization of COP29.
COP29 will intensify efforts to mitigate climate change, the World Bank (WB) said in an April report. The WB noted that COP29 will discuss eliminating distorting fossil fuel subsidies, which could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and accelerate the green transition.
Meanwhile, the World Bank (WB) shared its plans to select a personal consultant in the COP29 category for an annual period of work with the possibility of extension in May and is holding a corresponding tender.
This week, Chairman of the Board of the Entrepreneurship Development Fund (EDF), Osman Khaliyev, said that 'green' projects rank among the priority areas for the fund.
He also noted that the fund has developed an ESG [environmental, social, and corporate governance] model in accordance with international standards, which makes it possible to determine the environmental, social, and corporate governance aspects of financed business entities in Azerbaijan and potential risks.
Besides, the British Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan (BCCA) announced that on April 17, Baku will host a meeting on COP29 and the entire range of issues on the global climate agenda with the participation of the Head of the Climate Diplomacy Department of the Environment, Climate and Energy Directorate (ECED) Andrew Francis, Head of the Climate Strategy and Coordination Department Anna Walters, UK Ambassador to Azerbaijan Fergus Auld, and BCCA experts.
This week, Advisor to the President of Kazakhstan, Special Representative for International Environmental Cooperation Zulfiya Suleimenova, visited Baku and emphasized that Kazakhstan will take an active part in COP29 in Baku.
A meeting was held between the delegation led by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, chief negotiator of COP29 Yalchin Rafiyev, special representative of COP27 Wa Abu Majd, and chief negotiator of COP27 Muhammad Nasr in Cairo at the beginning of the week, and consultations were held on preparations for COP29.
Global Head of Gas, Power, and Renewables Richard Holtum at the world's largest trader Trafigura noted on April 8 that commitments announced at the COP28 climate conference in Dubai to triple global renewable energy capacity (RES) and double the average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030 could account for almost three-quarters of the reduction emissions on the road to Net Zero.
A source in Azerbaijan's SOCAR Downstream said that the international companies QSI and Vibrocomp Shift conducted trainings for the environmental department of SOCAR Downstream on working according to two modern standards: ISO 14064 (responsible for quantifying and reporting greenhouse gas emissions) and ISO 50001 (management). This training was necessary in connection with SOCAR’s active adherence to 'green' obligations.
European Investment Bank (EIB) Vice President Ambroise Fayolle shared a publication in social media, according to which EIB will hold extensive consultations on adapting financial mechanisms to lending to projects in the field of climate and sustainable development in Luxembourg at the end of April.
It was revealed that the Arab company Masdar will organize an international conference on green hydrogen on April 16 in Abu Dhabi, and Azerbaijan's minister of energy plans to take part in its work and present the government’s vision for the development of a hydrogen strategy.
The Iran Renewable Energy Conference (Iran REC 2024) said that the eighth exhibition-conference on renewable energy sources will be held in Tehran on May 27–28.
This week, an informed source in the energy sector clarified that the total installed capacity of renewable energy sources in Azerbaijan currently stands at 1,688 MW, or 20.3 percent of the country's total grid capacity.
This figure was achieved by adding 363 MW (230 MW of Garadagh solar power plant and hydropower). The country is rapidly moving towards achieving a 30 percent share of renewable energy in the energy mix by 2027.
This week, the Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan, Mikayil Jabbarov, paid a working visit to Slovakia, and regional and global energy projects, including green energy, were identified among the prospects for cooperation.
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