BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 13. Azerbaijan's selection as COP29 host pleased the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which authorized a technical aid package, ADB Director General for Central and Western Asia Eugenue Zhukov said in an exclusive interview with Trend last week.
In addition to the planned adoption of a new country cooperation strategy that would span the years 2024–2028, he said that 2024 is a significant year for the Asian Development Bank and Azerbaijan, as it celebrates 25 years since Azerbaijan joined the bank in 1999.
Zhukov clarified that the overwhelming agenda of the ADB New Country Partnership Strategy for Azerbaijan would be helping the country to decarbonize its economy and to increase the share of renewable energy.
Moreover, according to him, ADB is helping Azerbaijan to develop and implement more green energy projects. So, two years ago, the bank invested in the largest solar power plant in the Caucasus, a 230-megawatt power plant run by Masdar company in Alat settlement, and currently it's a part of a small 100 kW project on the Boyuk Shor lake.
The ADB representative also noted that there's ongoing study on the project of Black Sea cable, going from Azerbaijan to Georgia, from Black Sea to Romania (Black Sea Energy), and feasibility study ongoing, while ADB will be very glad to participate in the project.
He also said that the bank is interested in the idea of laying underwater cable crossing the Caspian Sea from Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan and to Azerbaijan.
The Azerbaijan Renewable Energy Agency (AREA) under the Ministry of Energy noted this week that the secretariat overseeing the implementation of the Caspian-Black Sea-EU perspective green energy export project will be based in Baku and supervised by AREA.
In addition, this week AREA held negotiations with Powerchina Huadong and China Southern Power Grid companies regarding the use of battery and pumped hydro storage technologies.
During a briefing this week, Kazakhstan's Minister of Energy Almasadam Satkaliyev announced that Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan have commenced the development of a feasibility study for the integration of energy systems and the laying of a high-voltage cable along the bottom of the Caspian Sea (this cable can later connect to the Black Sea Energy).
The Slovak Aspiro consulting company, visiting Baku on May 7, briefed on the existence of points of contact with AREA and expressed a desire to participate in projects related to the green economy in Azerbaijan (such as small hydroelectric power stations, production of green hydrogen, and the creation of energy storage systems).
Another Slovak company, Unicorn Systems, focusing on providing IT services for energy companies, also showed interest in projects involving the laying of electrical cables through Azerbaijan's territory and expressed readiness to provide necessary services.
There were also many discussions this week regarding the upcoming COP29. As part of Azerbaijan's presidency in COP29, expert training sessions were conducted by experts from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on May 6-7 in Baku with the participation of relevant government structures to support the preparation of the Biennial Transparency Report (BTR), which is a key component of the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) under the Paris Agreement.
During the event, Azerbaijan's Deputy Foreign Minister, Chief Negotiator for COP29 Yalchin Rafiyev emphasized that the submission of the BTR by participating states, including Azerbaijan, is one of the priority areas of the COP29 presidency.
In this regard, he urged relevant government structures of the country to contribute to the preparation of the BTR as soon as possible.
Besides, during an official visit to Türkiye on May 8, the Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Ali Asadov handed over a letter of invitation from President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to participate in COP29, which will take place in Azerbaijan in November of this year.
Moreover, last week, Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Vilayat Guliyev met with a member of the Presidency of this country, Zeljko Komsic, and delivered a letter of invitation addressed to him from President Ilham Aliyev to COP29.
Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Fuad Iskenderov, visited Zurich and delivered an invitation from President Ilham Aliyev to the leadership of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) to attend COP29.
During a visit to Baker Hughes Enterprises in Azerbaijan, US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mark Libby stated that American companies are interested in participating in COP29 in Baku.
Representative of Aspiro company (specializing in green energy projects), Miroslav Kuchera said that Slovakia, at the state and corporate levels, is ready to assist Azerbaijan in the preparation and successful conduct of COP29.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) announced that on May 15 in Paris, the first high-level dialogue between COP29 and the IEA will take place, and COP29 President Muhtar Babayev will participate in the event.
Assistant Secretary-General of the UN Administrative Assistant, and Director of the Bureau for Political and Programmatic Support of the UN Development Programme Marcos Neto expressed confidence during his speech in Baku on May 7 that COP29 will be successful.
UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan Vladanka Andreeva, speaking at an event in connection with COP29 in Baku, noted that the UN's commitment to this climate conference is to support Azerbaijan in this important process, the results of which will be long-term.
Andreeva emphasized that UN experts will make every effort to ensure that the COP29 conference is successful and its participants realize the "climate mission," particularly by beginning to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent.
Azerbaijan's Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, President of COP29 Muhtar Babayev, met this week with the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Russia, Alexander Kozlov, and the Minister of Economic Development, Maxim Reshetnikov, to discuss preparations for COP29.
In an interview with The Guardian last week, Azerbaijan's Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, President of COP29 Muhtar Babayev, stated that at COP29 in Baku, countries
will present a new global goal for providing climate financing to poorer countries, and this initiative will help poorer countries reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the consequences of extreme weather conditions.
On May 10, this idea was further elaborated upon in Baku at an event hosted by Pasha Holding and the UN titled "Climate Dialogues: Path to COP29" by Azerbaijan's Deputy Minister of Energy Elnur Sultanov (who is a member of the COP29 presidency council).
According to him, developed countries have historically used 80 percent of the carbon budget (meaning their economies developed with high carbon dioxide emissions), but now they are considering ways to minimize environmental damage by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Sultanov noted that developing countries lack the same opportunities as developed ones, they lack financial resources for climate action, and they need financial assistance, which will be one of the topics discussed in Azerbaijan at COP29.
The Strategy Representative of PASHA Holding Teymur Huseynov highlighted at this conference that PASHA Holding is one of the main partners of the UN in Azerbaijan in activities related to the preparation and hosting of COP29 in Baku.
Later on May 10, during a roundtable discussion on strategic vision at ADA University, Elnur Sultanov reported that there are two parallel processes underway in preparation for COP29: the negotiation stage and the development of an action plan for the conference.