Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan: 'A fair energy transition can be possible not by decommissioning traditional energy sources, but together with it”

The Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov attended the 23rd Ministerial Meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), which was held through videoconference and hosted by Bolivia. In his speech, the Minister expressed Azerbaijan's continued support for global efforts to reduce carbon emissions in the world and combat climate change. In this context, the reflection of the directions strengthening the position of renewable energy in the energy balance in the country's national priorities and socio-economic development strategy, and Azerbaijan's appearance with new targets at the COP 26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow were brought to the attention as an example of the steps taken. It was noted that Azerbaijan once again expressed its commitment to the global target of holding global warming at around 1.5 degrees, enshrined in the Paris Agreement and supported by the Glasgow Climate Pact.

At the same time, the Minister of Energy spoke about the important role of natural gas in the energy transformation as a low-carbon energy source and the increased importance of hydrocarbons in ensuring energy security in the light of the current energy crisis: "Without diversification of energy resources, sustainable energy supply is impossible, and the variety of energy resources, as always, is and will be a guarantee of stability in the energy market. We believe that maintaining of hydrocarbons in the energy balance is vital for resilience to shocks that lead to energy crises. We also believe that a fair energy transition can be possible not by decommissioning traditional energy sources, but together with it.

Stressing that Azerbaijan's energy policy always pursues the goal of serving energy security, stability, international cooperation and development in the world, the Minister said that the Southern Gas Corridor is a contribution to such a policy. Over the ten months of this year, Azerbaijan exported over 14 bcm of natural gas via this route, about half of which was used by European consumers.

The Ministerial Meeting with the participation of representatives of member and observer countries continued its work in three sessions. At the event, the report of the Board of Directors and Secretariat of the GECF for 2021 was reviewed, presentations on the current status of the gas market and development forecasts for 2050 were made, issues related to the approval of the organization's budget for 2022, the appointment of the president and members of the Board of Directors of the GECF for 2022, the 24th Ministerial Meeting and the 6th GECF Summit to be held in Qatar next year were discussed and relevant decisions were made.

It should be noted that since 2015, Azerbaijan has been participating in the Gas Exporting Countries Forum as an observer.