Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Azerbaijan: Sectors and Plans to Reduce the "Carbon Footprint"

On January 10, during a meeting with journalists specializing in the transport sector, Rahman Gummetov, Deputy Minister of Digital Development and Transport, discussed the ministry's success in transitioning to "green transport," aiming to electrify all Baku buses by 2030. He also highlighted a record number of passengers using railway transport. Gummetov stated that in 2024, Azerbaijani Railways (AR) served approximately 8.5 million passengers, compared to over 7 million in 2023. With the Baku-Balakan railway route that began operation on January 3, 2025, passenger numbers are expected to increase significantly nationwide.

SOCAR Türkiye Enerji AS (STEAS), a subsidiary of Azerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR, has announced plans to construct new facilities in Turkey for the production of ethylene, polypropylene, and polyethylene (polyolefins). This initiative comes as Turkey's demand for these products continues to grow, with the country currently importing nearly 90% of its polyolefins.

The presence of "hotspots" on the global map, geopolitical instability, and the uncertain future of the U.S. dollar—the key currency in trade operations—are factors driving increased investments in gold by private investors, companies, banks, and sovereign wealth funds.

At the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which began in Baku on November 11, a decision was made to allocate $300 billion annually for climate financing by 2035. Additionally, ten years of negotiations on high-quality carbon markets under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement were concluded. A decision was also made to fully operationalize the Loss and Damage Fund.