Azerbaijan sets green growth as development path, says official

The Azerbaijani government has identified "green growth" as its development path in the medium and long term, according to Huseyn Huseynov, Head of the Sustainable Development and Social Policy Department at Azerbaijan's Ministry Economy and Secretary of the National Coordination Council for Sustainable Development, Report informs.

Speaking at a conference titled "The Role of Small and Medium Businesses in the Green Economy" held in Baku today, Huseynov stated that the "Azerbaijan 2030: National Priorities for Socio-Economic Development" aims to transform the country into a green growth nation. "This is not just a target, but concrete measures have already begun to be implemented," he added.

Huseynov noted that the conference highlighted that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) account for 50% of emissions, a significant figure, which means that SMEs can contribute to reducing these emissions and overall decarbonization.

According to him, SMEs also constitute 70% of employment, and the risks arising here could potentially lead to job losses for the employed population globally.

The official believes that the World Bank estimates that climate change could reduce global GDP by 1.5-3% by 2050.

"This is a quite serious figure, and a decrease in GDP leads to a decline in economic activity worldwide. This will manifest itself in employment and an increased risk of poverty," he warned.