Azerbaijan to encourage nations at climate talks to align their national plans with UN objectives Minister Mukhtar Babayev in conversation with Reuters

Azerbaijan, which hosted last year's UN Climate Summit (COP29), will present its climate action plan by September after the UN granted an extension to most member states.

Azerbaijan's Minister of Ecology, Mukhtar Babayev, who has been serving as the COP2 President, underscored in an interview with the Reuters agency that the oil-producing country is advancing its transition to green energy.

Azerbaijan has stated that it will use its presidency at the annual UN negotiations to lead by example and urge countries to submit national climate plans in line with the UN’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The presidency of the UN talks will be handed over to Brazil, which will host the next climate conference in November.

The Paris Agreement, an international climate accord signed by almost 200 countries, requires all states to submit Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), or climate action plans, outlining policies or measures to reduce emissions and to update them every few years.

Only 19 countries met the original February deadline for submission this year, with Azerbaijan being among those. This situation prompted the UN to extend the deadline to September.

Commenting on this circumstance, Minister Babayev told the publication it was "very easy to declare something", suggesting that some countries may have delayed submitting their NDCs due to the need for further preparation.

He noted that Azerbaijan is developing a comprehensive program to transition to a low-carbon economy, which entails working toward the goal of producing 30% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030, expanding its solar energy capacity, and exporting wind energy from the Caspian Sea to EU consumers.

"For us, it's so important to demonstrate how the country with a big oil and gas history [has] now turned its economy to the green energy direction," he emphasised.

By Nazrin Sadigova