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Summary
- Azerbaijan plans to increase fossil fuel production to meet European Union demand, despite calls to transition away from fossil fuels.
- President Aliyev defended the country’s right to invest in and produce fossil fuels for economic development and poverty reduction.
- Azerbaijan’s climate targets fall short of the net zero level needed to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.
- The country is working on expanding solar and wind capacity, but its pledge to increase gas production contradicts international efforts to transition away from fossil fuels.
Speaking at a conference in Germany, Azerbaijan President Aliyev confirmed the country’s plans to increase fossil fuel production in the coming years to meet demand from the European Union and other importing countries.
Azerbaijan, host of this year’s UN COP29 climate summit, will continue to invest in gas production in order to meet European Union demand for energy in what its president called a “sign of responsibility.”
The remarks were part of Azeri President Ilham Aliyev’s opening speech on the second second day of the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, a yearly international conference co-hosted by the German Foreign Office and the current COP presidency that brings together selected countries to prepare for the UN summit.
Citing an agreement between Azerbaijan and the European Commission, Aliyev said his country will increase its gas production and continue exporting its gas supplies to the EU “for many more years,” as the bloc seeks to break reliance on Russian gas. In 2023, Azerbaijan exported nearly half of its gas supplies to the EU, around 12 billion cubic meter. In December, the country said it was on track to nearly double that amount by 2027.
