Renewable Energy – Azerbaijan
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission and President Aliyev of Azerbaijan laid the ground for a new partnership between the EU and Azerbaijan in the field of renewable energy.
Azerbaijan has tremendous potential in renewable energy.
With this agreement, both parties commit to expanding the Southern Gas Corridor to double gas supplies from Azerbaijan to the EU.
“I want to emphasise three points from our Memorandum of Understanding,” said Von der Leyen in her speech. “The first is that we will double the supply of gas from Azerbaijan to the European Union. Indeed, with this MoU, we commit to the expansion of the Southern Gas Corridor. This is already a very important supply route for the European Union, delivering currently more than 8 billion cubic metres of gas per year. And we will expand its capacity to 20 billion cubic metres in a few years. From next year on, we should already reach 12 billion cubic metres. This will help compensate for cuts in supplies of Russian gas and contribute significantly to Europe’s security of supply.”
“The second point that is very prominent in the MoU is the topic of the renewables. Azerbaijan has tremendous potential in renewable energy – you just described it, Mr President –, and in particular in offshore wind and green hydrogen. We discussed it extensively in our bilateral meeting. Today, with our MoU, we are laying the ground for solid cooperation in that area. So gradually, Azerbaijan will evolve from being a fossil fuel supplier to becoming a very reliable and prominent renewable energy partner to the European Union.”
“Finally, our cooperation on gas has to be consistent with our responsibilities on climate. This includes, for example, the emissions of methane. Our MoU sets out commitments to reduce methane emissions throughout the entire gas supply chain. And, as we have discussed, I strongly encourage Azerbaijan to join the Global Methane Pledge, which is now supported by 119 countries. Azerbaijan has made enormous progress and has a lot to deliver.”
