BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept.10
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMA) project of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR achieved 35 percent energy savings in pilot buildings over the past five years, UNDP told Trend.
Moreover, during this period, 8-10 percent fuel consumption saving was achieved by pilot transportation activities, capturing of 4.6 million cubic meters of methane gas emissions per year, all of which contribute to the prevention of negative impacts of climate change, said UNDP.
“In this regard in order to further disseminate the positive results of the project and to raise awareness on enhancing the role of energy efficiency (EE) measures and alternative energy in the country, the project team organized a "Webinar on Awareness raising in EE in Buildings and Transportation" within the framework of a #GreenEnergy contest. The webinar was attended by officials from ministries, SOCAR and UNDP, as well as the participants of the contest.
“In addition, various local and international experts took part in the webinar presenting experience they gained regarding energy-efficient, as well as cutting-edge technologies that could be applied to enhance the role of energy efficiency measures in Azerbaijan.”
The specific objective of the project is to support SOCAR in the implementation of its Climate Change Strategy. Promoting and up-scaling greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation measures is introduced and implemented during project period. Thus, pilot investments are directed into energy efficiency and low carbon technologies in the country. The NAMA project is jointly financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), UNDP and SOCAR and will be implemented by SOCAR and UNDP Azerbaijan.
The project is addressing the existing challenges to improve the energy performance of main end-use sectors, namely buildings and transportation. Vented and flared gas from existing on-shore oil and gas fields is captured through the mitigation activities and later is utilized as a fuel source for nearby residential areas that are otherwise affected by large-scale deforestation activities. The project is consistent with International Climate Change Mitigation Objectives.
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