BAKU — At the inaugural Baku Climate Action Week, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Economy, Mikayil Jabbarov, outlined the transformative potential of the Climate Finance Action Fund (CFAF) in addressing climate finance gaps and advancing the global energy transition.
According to Trend News Agency, Jabbarov highlighted the upcoming COP29 as a critical juncture for establishing robust financing mechanisms essential for supporting sustainable energy solutions. The minister expressed a commitment to inclusive discussions, emphasizing the importance of involving a broad array of stakeholders, including countries, international organizations, financial institutions, and major energy companies. “We aim to engage all stakeholders in this process and achieve inclusive discussions,” he stated, underlining the strategy to integrate discussions on incentives to attract private investment in low-carbon business solutions during the COP29.
The Climate Finance Action Fund, one of 14 key initiatives in the COP29 action plan, is designed to bridge significant gaps in current climate financing. Jabbarov detailed that the fund’s capital would primarily derive from fossil fuel-producing countries and companies engaged in the extraction of oil, gas, and coal. The fund’s primary goal is to amplify the contributions of these entities to the green transition, particularly focusing on investments in combating climate change in developing countries and small island states.
Jabbarov also revealed ambitious financial goals for the CFAF: “The fund aims to raise $1 billion in capital and will involve at least 10 donor countries,” he explained, indicating a substantial scale of international cooperation aimed at fostering substantial changes in climate finance.
Further addressing Azerbaijan’s economic landscape, Jabbarov reflected on the nation's economic performance, particularly in non-oil sectors, despite the global challenges posed by the pandemic and declining oil and gas production. “Despite the decline in oil and gas production, positive economic growth dynamics, particularly in the non-oil and gas sector, have been maintained,” he noted, attributing the success to wide-ranging socioeconomic reforms that have expanded budgetary expenditures and supported entrepreneurship and investment.
As Baku prepares to host the first-ever Action Week from September 30 to October 4, 2024, the focus sharpens on setting a substantive climate agenda ahead of COP29, aiming to catalyze further global action and cooperation on climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies.