(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 27. The World Bank
(WB) is ready to work with the government of Azerbaijan to address
the priorities in the development of a sustainable marine
environment, Kseniya Lvovsky, Practice Manager for Environment,
Natural Resources, and Blue Economy in Europe and Central Asia
Sustainable Development Department of the WB, told trend in an exclusive
interview.
According to the specialist, Azerbaijan has great potential for
the improvement of what experts call a 'blue' economy, which is the
exploitation, preservation, and regeneration of the marine
environment.
“What we understand by this term is a sustainable, inclusive
economy in the coastal and maritime space, and here Azerbaijan is
fortunate to obtain all the sources. Having a very long coastal and
maritime space, where strong economic activity is already observed,
Azerbaijan could increase its capacities in the field,” she
said.
As Lvovsky rightly pointed out, the potential of the blue
economy may get limited if it is not developed in a more
sustainable way.
“For example, the pollution of the sea, whether these are oil
spills wastewater or plastic, which is another emerging issue of
global significance, if these issues are not addressed, it will be
difficult to develop tourism or attract private investors in other
economic sectors, including potentially new economic sectors,
fisheries, marine culture and so on,” the expert noted.
The WB's recommendation for Azerbaijan in this regard is to
create a level playing field for the private sector so that it can
provide public investments in environmental infrastructure in
rehabilitating the coast, plaguing abandoned wells, addressing
pollution control, and adopting robust policies for innovative
financial mechanisms to support private sector investment in green
and sustainable industries along the coast.
“We are really pleased with the different types of collaboration
between the WB and Azerbaijan. Renewable energy, in this regard, is
very important for greener economic growth in Azerbaijan, and
globally, and, indeed, the WB Group, together with the
International Finance Corporation (IFC) supports such initiatives
as the Offshore Wind Roadmap, which is a great example of blue
economy development,” Lvovsky said.
Speaking further, the expert stated that the WB is eager to
support Azerbaijan in the development of a clean hydrogen
production industry.
“Our preliminary assessment indicates that Azerbaijan, as a
fossil fuel economy, has the potential for the production of clean,
which is blue, green and turquoise, hydrogen. This is the type of
alternative clean energy resource that many hydrogen-rich economies
are looking for - a cleaner and low carbonate future,” she
said.
She said that at the moment, the WB is preparing a Country
Climate and Development Report for Azerbaijan, where the more
detailed and in-depth assessment of hydrogen potential production
in the country, with specific recommendations for the government,
as well as the potential of WB's support in the field.
“We are following our five-year program together with the
Government of Azerbaijan, and, currently, we are about to start
preparing Country Partnership Framework to outline the paths of our
cooperation, including the financing process for the next five
years. We look forward to hearing the government's priorities, and,
certainly, renewable energy, we believe, will be prioritized,”
Lvovsky added.
In conclusion, the WB expert spoke about the newly prepared
'Azerbaijan: Towards Green Growth' report, and pointed out, that
the key message of the report is supporting private investments in
green economic sectors.
According to the expert, this could be achieved through a
combination of strong policies, regulations, innovative financing
mechanisms and public-private partnerships.
Supporting market approach in the sectors that use renewable
natural resources such as agriculture, water management, forestry,
fisheries and marine culture will be of great importance to achieve
green economic growth, she noted, adding that, at the same time,
those sectors have a high potential for job growth.
'Green transformation is a long way off, and it requires a
long-term vision, backed by concrete strategies with short-,
medium- and long-term measures, and, in terms of policy reforms, it
is important to begin the implementation without delay. I think
that Azerbaijan has a high human, technical and investment
potential for successful implementation of these reforms,' she
said.