2024-03-01 05:13:49
As the host country of COP29, Azerbaijan has a huge opportunity to help the world continue to combat methane emissions.
As Day.Az reports, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the US Bureau of Energy Resources Kimberly Harrington, who arrived in Baku to participate in the 10th meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council, said this in an exclusive interview with Trend.
“It’s very nice to be here. This is my first visit to Azerbaijan. I want to tell you a little about what the Bureau of Energy Resources does and why I am taking part in this ministerial meeting. The Bureau of Energy Resources serves as a link between energy security, decarbonization and energy access for the State department. One of our first projects that we promoted, which formed the basis for the creation of our office, was the Southern Gas Corridor. We always say that Azerbaijan is in the DNA of our office, and this is true. This ministerial meeting and COP29 serve to achieve two “The U.S. Government is very proud of the role it has played for over a decade in supporting the Southern Gas Corridor and, of course, its final phases of full operation in 2020,” she said.
Harrington noted that she was in Sangachal and saw the pipeline signed by a number of officials, including a representative of the US government.
“This shows that our office’s long-term goal is to strengthen energy security in the region. And that really means diversifying routes and diversifying access so that no country is overly dependent on one energy source. Europe is rightly pursuing some important goals to move away from Russian oil and Russian gas. In fact, one of its main goals is to completely phase out Russian gas by 2027. The more diversity of resources, the more they can help achieve this goal, and we see the Southern Gas Corridor as part of this. I think “that Europe still has work to do to achieve this goal. Our goals for the Southern Gas Corridor are the same now as they were ten years ago when the office was founded to diversify energy resources for our partners and allies,” she said.
Expansion of the Southern Gas Corridor
Harrington noted that the United States certainly supports the expansion of the Southern Gas Corridor and the agreement between Azerbaijan and the EU to double gas exports.
“The United States views the Southern Gas Corridor as an infrastructure that is fundamental to achieving this goal. European energy security is only strengthened by diversification and an increase in the number of improved routes such as the Southern Gas Corridor. We want to ensure that energy is not used as a weapon against our partners and allies. We have already seen this. Recently, more interconnectors have appeared in Europe, including the Greece-Bulgaria interconnector, through which Azerbaijani gas is supplied. The more Azerbaijani gas reaches more European countries, the better. This interconnector operates in a certain territory “, where Russia previously had a near-monopoly. We will continue to support these efforts, and we think that this expansion of the geography of Azerbaijani gas supplies will change the situation for many countries,” she said.
Cooperation in the field of green energy
Harrington noted that the United States sees enormous potential in the field of solar and wind energy in Azerbaijan.
“Yesterday I stood on the shore of the Caspian Sea and felt the wind. Using renewable energy has many benefits, not only for our decarbonization goals, but also releases molecules that can be used domestically for export abroad. Renewable energy and Supporting the development of renewable energy is at the core of what we do.
I have been in Baku for several days now, so I had the opportunity to discuss some of these goals with officials. I was at a meeting with the Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan Parviz Shahbazov. We talked about the concept of a green energy corridor. We are absolutely interested in learning more and seeing how we can support these ambitious plans. Azerbaijan has already implemented several quite impressive large infrastructure projects – Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Southern Gas Corridor. It won’t be easy to create another major green energy corridor. I must say that it will not be easy to implement these projects, but if anyone can prove the doubters wrong, it will be Azerbaijan, because Azerbaijan has done this in the past,” she added.
Harrington noted that the United States hopes to expand cooperation with Azerbaijan in the field of renewable energy sources.
“Under the Biden administration in the US, we have taken many truly important steps to advance the adoption of clean energy and renewable energy. These include landmark legislation such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, the Inflation Relief Act, and the Chips and Science Act. This is real.” stimulates clean energy research and development in the United States. Secretary Shabazov recently had the opportunity to visit the National Renewable Energy Laboratories in Colorado, and discuss ways to expand our collaboration on renewable energy with our Department partners. Thus, as As Azerbaijan implements more renewable energy sources, we are ready to partner to ensure that the result can provide electricity supplies to the citizens of Azerbaijan and beyond.
Considering that the UAE recently hosted COP28, and Azerbaijan is about to host COP29, it is possible to cooperate within the framework of the Partnership for Accelerating Clean Energy Development. This format was created in 2022 and its goal is to stimulate $100 billion in green energy investment and support for clean energy projects around the world by 2035,” she said.
Harrington believes that given the partnership with UAE-based Masdar and its dedicated work in Azerbaijan in the renewable energy market, trilateral cooperation between the United States, Azerbaijan and the UAE in this area opens up many opportunities.
Expectations for COP29
“First of all, I want to congratulate Azerbaijan for hosting COP. This is an incredibly important conference as we continue to suffer greatly from the impacts of the climate crisis around the world and see more extreme weather events occurring every year. This conference is incredibly important as we strive to to save the climate for future generations. I would say that one of the main priorities of COP29 is to maintain the progress that was made at COP28. The conference made several commitments that were particularly important – tripling the use of renewable energy by 2030, doubling energy efficiency by 2030 And of course, this conference marked the first time leaders have committed to a completely fossil fuel-free future. So we still have a lot of work to do to keep the 1.5 degree target within reach. COP28 has brought us closer to “I would also say that as the host country of COP 29, Azerbaijan has a huge opportunity to help the world continue to combat methane emissions,” she said.
Harrington added that methane is driving climate change.
“It is 80 percent more efficient than CO2. Its impact on climate change is truly significant. However, methane does not stay in the atmosphere as long as CO2. There is indeed a chance to try to maintain the 1.5 degree target. Of course, methane does not only come from oil and gas sector, but also from other sectors. However, when it comes to reducing methane emissions, this can be most easily achieved in the oil and gas sector. Because in fact, methane emissions are in many ways a wasted resource. It is natural gas, a resource that either released into the air through flaring or fugitive emissions. And it’s really a wasted economic resource,” she said.
Harrington noted the enormous efforts being made by bp and SOCAR in Sangachal to reduce methane emissions.
“This kind of work is important to demonstrate to other oil and gas producing countries during this conference. When I was in Sangachal, I was particularly impressed by the plans to electrify facilities and ultimately use renewable energy sources. I think Azerbaijan can show great leadership in area of reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas sector and maximizing decarbonization of the oil and gas sector. This shows how energy security and decarbonization can be achieved at the same time. I think one thing that is important to highlight is the wonderful initiative of the Troika, which is the United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan and Brazil, who can work together to bring together the efforts of the three COPs and make it clear to the world that none of these activities are carried out in isolation. They are part of ensuring continuity. I look forward to seeing all the efforts made by the three partner countries together. Everyone is looking forward to that COP29 will also have a strong focus on climate finance.
There are plans to increase climate change funding to $100 billion. And I think that there will be an opportunity in Azerbaijan to achieve this goal, to expand action to combat climate change around the world. I believe that in the next few months we will see a clearer presentation of Azerbaijan’s priorities. We are very excited to see what renewable energy and other initiatives Azerbaijan plans to put forward,” she concluded.
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