BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. I hope the issue of financing clean energy sources in emerging and developing countries will be raised during the COP29 to be held in Azerbaijan, Baku, Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said during a panel discussion within the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trend reports.
"Many things have been discussed at COP28 in Dubai, including the doubling of renewable energy capacities and tripling investments. However, how we are going to finance clean energy investments – this is the question left to be discussed in Baku within COP29. The clean energy sector saw an increase in investments from $1 trillion to $1.8 trillion over the last 5 years. The problem is that most of these investments were made by China. We hope that COP29 addresses this issue," he said.
According to Birol, necessary standards and mechanisms should be applied by all governments around the globe to ensure the effectiveness of these investments.
"We need to triple investments in energy efficiency, which, in most cases, pay back in 2-3 years. It is a very lucrative business; however, governments need to provide incentives, especially for low and middle-income groups, to make the initial investment in buying a heat pump or an electric car. There should be mechanisms in place to ensure that companies, implementing energy efficiency measures, operate in a competitive environment. For consumers, the motivation should not just be about saving energy for the sake of it. We have to help governments understand, primarily for their budget but also for energy security and carbon footprint. About 60 governments were brought together last year in Paris, where we discussed these standards," the IEA director added.
Meanwhile, the decision to host COP29 in Azerbaijan has been officially announced in Dubai on December 11, 2023.
In addition to Azerbaijan, Armenia and Bulgaria put forth their candidacies. However, on December 7, 2023, after direct negotiations between the Administration of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Office of the Prime Minister of Armenia, Armenia decided to withdraw its candidacy in support of Azerbaijan. Bulgaria followed suit and also withdrew its candidacy.
Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan Mukhtar Babayev has been appointed COP29 president on January 4, 2024.