Integrated Environmental Policies in Europe & CIS

Azerbaijan clamps down on greenhouse gas emissions

UNDP and Azerbaijan's Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources have launched a joint project to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the country.

Supported by a US$ 300,000 contribution from the Government of Norway, the project aims to assist Azerbaijan in creating capacity to participate in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto protocol of the United Nations Framework Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC) to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This in turn will enable transfer of technologies and facilitate the increase of foreign investment flows into Azerbaijan.

“It is important to understand the consequences of consumption of energy and to develop projects that would reduce the impact of energy use on the environment,” said the UNDP Representative Marco Borsotti at the signing ceremony in Baku in late June. “Many countries in the world have developed very interesting responses to this problem, and Norway, together with other Nordic countries, is at the forefront of this response action. Azerbaijan can profit from the association with Norway by learning how they responded to the problem of diversification, management of natural resources, reforestation.”

“The entry into force of the Kyoto protocol provides Azerbaijan with new opportunities for reducing its greenhouse gas emissions which pollute the atmosphere and contribute to the global warming,” said Huseyn Bagirov, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Azerbaijan, adding that participation in the Clean Development Mechanism could help mobilize resources for environmentally-friendly technologies.

The project will be jointly implemented by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources and UNDP over the next two years. As a result of the project, Azerbaijan is expected to develop policy guidelines and institutional frameworks for implementation of CDM, prepare proposals for concrete CDM projects and formulate Azerbaijan's medium-term CDM strategy, including priority sectors and type of projects for CDM investments.

For further information, please contact:

Fargan Abbaszadeh
Communication Officer
UNDP Azerbaijan
Tel. +994 12 492 1939, 111
fargan.abbaszadeh@un-az.org

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