Sustainable urban growth in Azerbaijan: ADB funds $2.1 million green initiative

On March 18, 2025, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced its plan to allocate $2.1 million in technical assistance to support green, sustainable, and inclusive urban development in Azerbaijan as part of the project "Adopting Greener, Sustainable and Inclusive Approaches for Cities in Asia and the Pacific."

According to ADB, the initiative will cover several countries in the region, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Mongolia, Nepal, the Philippines, the Marshall Islands, the Solomon Islands, and Uzbekistan, per Caliber.Az.

The funding for this project will come from multiple sources, including the Urban Sustainability Trust Fund under the Urban Finance Partnership Facility ($1 million), the Water Innovation Trust Fund ($500,000), and the High-Level Technology Fund ($600,000).

The project aims to assist developing countries in the region in designing and evaluating key investment initiatives that promote environmentally sustainable, climate-resilient, and inclusive development solutions.

"Through an integrated approach to urban development, this initiative will facilitate the attraction and implementation of additional sub-projects with funding from various donors, ensuring consistent and harmonized efforts. This approach will lead to more effective implementation compared to fragmented initiatives," the ADB stated.

As the bank highlights, developing countries in Asia and the Pacific are particularly vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters. The region, home to 2.3 billion people, has an urbanization rate exceeding 50%, presenting significant challenges to sustainable growth.

"40% of all global natural disasters occur in this region, affecting 84% of the population. Between 2000 and 2019, six of the ten countries most impacted by climate change were located here — Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Thailand. Floods and extreme weather events, particularly in coastal and mountainous areas like the Hindu Kush and the Himalayas, present a unique threat," the report added.

Cities in the region consume 60-80% of global energy and are responsible for 75% of carbon emissions. The primary pollution sources include fossil fuel use, transportation, poor waste management, and deforestation. In 2018, countries in the region contributed nearly half of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.

Furthermore, over 60% of large and medium-sized cities in the region suffer from poor air quality, while plastic pollution is rising, with 90% of marine litter stemming from land-based plastic waste.

ADB emphasizes that many cities in the region face weak governance, lack of coordination, and limited local revenue. For sustainable urban development, the region must attract private investment, broaden the tax base, and strengthen management capacities.

The project will focus on increasing integrated investments in urban development and developing knowledge and tools to support sustainable growth. Key objectives include introducing green, sustainable, and inclusive approaches to urban investment projects, promoting smart technologies, developing integrated solution knowledge, and enhancing cities' capacity to manage innovative projects. These efforts will help countries in the region build green, sustainable, and inclusive cities capable of addressing the challenges posed by climate change, natural disasters, and social inequalities.

By Tamilla Hasanova