Californian official hails Azerbaijan's green energy potential at COP29

Significant progress will be made in addressing the challenges posed by climate change at the COP29 event held in Baku, said Wade Crowfoot, US California Secretary for Natural Resources.

He made the remarks on the sidelines of the COP29 climate conference, expressing his deep appreciation for the issues discussed at the conference, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

"Because it is a very important event for countries to come together to discuss climate change. We need to solve the problem of climate change in a way that creates new jobs around the world, attracts investments in various sectors of the economy, and improves people's living standards."

Crowfoot noted that COP29 provides an opportunity for participating countries to get to know different regions of the world closely: "We will also be able to get more detailed information about Baku, Azerbaijan, and the Caspian region during our days here."

Wade Crowfoot also spoke about Azerbaijan's potential in the energy sector: “Azerbaijan is a state that produces a significant amount of oil and gas and exports them to various countries. This sector is an extremely important area of ​​the economy."

"At the same time, we heard from the Azerbaijani government that work is being done to diversify the Azerbaijani economy, or rather, to create an economic system that is not dependent on oil and gas. We believe that this is a very good thing. We are implementing this process quite successfully in California. Although our state produces a significant amount of oil, we believe that the economy should be free from non-renewable energy carriers. For this reason, we are working on diversifying the economy by using various energy sources, such as solar and wind."

He believes that by attracting a significant amount of technology to this area, a city can be illuminated by alternative energy sources.

"In general, by attracting a significant amount of investment and technology, as well as artificial intelligence, it is possible to achieve an increase in renewable energy and energy efficiency," the foreign guest added.

The official stressed that Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea region have great oil and gas potential, as well as solar and wind energy, geothermal energy:

"Azerbaijan’s potential has made it a leader in the Caspian Sea region in the field of oil and gas, which are traditional energy sources. This means that Azerbaijan also has the potential to invest the revenues it receives from oil and gas exports in solar, wind and geothermal energy sources. Other states, like states in the United States that were previously dependent on oil and gas, will ultimately be able to diversify their economies."

"COP is also an opportunity to form partnerships. We are trying to support companies existing in California in implementing various technological solutions. Our economy is quite large. We are currently actively looking for partners. COP29, hosted by Azerbaijan, is both very different and further enhances the leadership of this country. Of course, California is interested in expanding partnerships," he concluded.

By Khagan Isayev