“Today, the transition to an economically sustainable, clean and healthy future is one of the most urgent challenges and, at the same time, a great responsibility that we face as a society. The transition to a green economy is of great importance in order to achieve sustainable development in a context of environmental pollution, declining natural resources and increasing demand worldwide.”
Oku.Az The Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, President of COP29 Mukhtar Babayev, made this statement at the conference “The Role of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in the Green Economy”, held in Baku with the support of the Ministries of Economy, Ecology and Natural Resources, and organized by the Small and Medium-sized Business Development Agency (SMBD).
He said that the transition to a green economy, which is a component of sustainable development, occupies an important place in the concept of Azerbaijan’s development based on socio-economic reforms:
“In recent years, significant steps have been taken in the direction of transition to a green economy in Azerbaijan. In accordance with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, our country has made significant achievements in the areas of expansion of renewable energy sources, energy efficiency and development of the circular economy.
Sustainable development and environmental protection are identified as one of the main objectives in the National Priorities document, which provides a vision until 2030. This document includes specific environmental objectives such as accelerating our country’s transition towards a green economy, efficient management of natural resources, reduction of carbon emissions, adaptation to climate change and increasing energy efficiency.
According to UN statistics, SMEs account for 70% of employment worldwide. They play an important role in creating jobs for women, youth and vulnerable groups.
SME activity also plays a significant role in global carbon emissions. In this sense, improving their environmental performance has great potential in the fight against climate change. Furthermore, according to the 12th Sustainable Development Goal “Responsible consumption and production”, the application of clean and efficient production methods contributes to a more responsible use of resources and to reducing environmental risks.
It should be noted that with the support of the State, new opportunities are opening up to exploit the existing potential related to the development of the green economy. The measures taken by the government in the field of green energy provide a long-term vision for the private sector and investors and stimulate the development of new projects. In this context, it is necessary to increase the number of environmental projects in both the public and private sectors. SMEs should be encouraged to create sustainable infrastructure and use green technologies. This will contribute to both economic growth and environmental efficiency.
“To overcome the financial difficulties faced by SMEs in this transition, it is important to expand their access to preferential financial resources. According to the UN assessment, the transition to a low-carbon economy worldwide requires trillions of US dollars per year. Green loans, green bonds, environmental and social bonds, it is necessary to facilitate SMEs’ investment in green and sustainable projects through financial instruments related to business management,” M. Babayev stressed.
Maharram Aliyev
