Official: Azerbaijan needs $200B in investment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050

Azerbaijan needs $200 billion in investment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, Azerbaijani Energy Minister and COP29 CEO Elnur Soltanov said at the Sustainable Development Goals Dialogue on "Voices of the Future: Coordinating Climate Action and Efforts Towards Global Goals" held in Baku, Report informs.

"Decisions must be more resolute and backed by large investments. Some numbers are indeed surprising. However, a zero-waste approach is inevitable - we have no other way, otherwise we would destroy the world. More than 40 gigawatt-hours of solar and wind energy are needed to reach net zero by 2050. This is 5 times the existing installed capacity in Azerbaijan. The country's electricity consumption is expected to reach 89 terawatt-hours by 2050. Currently, this figure is 33 terawatts, meaning it will triple," Soltanov emphasized.

Soltanov added that in terms of investment, the main share belongs to the electricity generation sector with 24%: "The residential and buildings sector comes second, followed by the oil and gas sector, which is responsible for approximately 26% of emissions. The fourth sector is transport, the fifth is industry, the sixth is waste sector, and the seventh is the agricultural sector."