OECD joins efforts with Azerbaijan to develop country's "green" economy

The Environment Directorate of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is currently working with Azerbaijan within the framework of two EU-funded green economy development programmes.

"Through the EU4Environment Green Economy programme EU4Environment, the OECD is helping Azerbaijan to develop green investment strategies, ensure environmental compliance, and develop green growth indicators,” an OECD source told Trend.

“The EU4Environment Water and Data programme, funded by the EU, aims to promote the sustainable use of valuable water resources and support open access to environmental data. The OECD has been facilitating multilateral national water policy dialogues with Azerbaijan for more than 10 years. The dialogues aim to promote water policy reform and bring together a range of public and private actors recognising that water is a key resource in all sectors of the economy," the source said.

According to the OECD, the organisation has provided technical assistance to Azerbaijan's Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources in preparing a green public expenditure programme to help meet the demand for drinking and technical water for Azerbaijan's population, agriculture and industry.

"The programme targets rural areas in selected regions that face serious challenges in providing safe domestic drinking water, water for irrigation and reducing wastewater pollution. A capital market analysis was conducted as part of the project ‘Greening Debt Capital Markets in Eastern Partnership Countries and the Role of Green Bonds’. It helped assess Azerbaijan's readiness to accept debt financing for green investments," the organisation noted.

It pointed out that the OECD is preparing a report analysing environmental inspections and other aspects of ensuring environmental compliance in Azerbaijan based on international best practices and will also provide recommendations.

"Work continues to analyse progress in Azerbaijan in reforming public administration in the spheres of environment and green economy, as well as to assess progress in establishing mechanisms for interagency cooperation to achieve environmental goals. The report, which is tentatively scheduled to be published in 2024, will help identify the challenges facing environmental governance at the national, regional and local levels," the organisation added.