Moody's Highlights Azerbaijan As Only Country In Caucasus, Central Asia With 2050 Emissions Goal

(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 2. Azerbaijan is the only country in the in the Central Asia and Caucasus region to set a 2050 target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Moody's said in its latest release, Trend reports.

“According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Central Asia and Caucasus countries require approximately $120 billion in investment by 2030 to meet decarbonization targets, which is equivalent to around 14% of GDP. Countries in the region will need to direct most of this investment toward power generation, particularly non-hydropower renewables, alongside energy efficiency improvements and transmission infrastructure,” said Moody's analysts.

The report shows that all countries in the region have announced targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by either 2030 or 2050, although the scope and ambition of these targets vary.

“Kazakhstan, the region's highest emitter, has committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15% (unconditional) and 25% (conditional)5 compared with 1990 levels by 2030. According to Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research data for 2023, Kazakhstan's emissions per capita stood at 15.99 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, significantly higher than other countries such as Azerbaijan (6.17 tonnes), Uzbekistan (6.14 tonnes), Georgia (5.13 tonnes) and the Kyrgyz Republic (3.11 tonnes). Most countries in the region are pursuing absolute emissions reduction targets, with the exception of Uzbekistan, which has an intensity-based target to reduce emissions by 35% per unit of GDP by 2030, compared with 2010 levels. This differs from countries like Armenia, which aims to reduce emissions by 40% below 1990 levels by 2030.

Azerbaijan is the only country in the region to set a 2050 target, committing to a 40% reduction from 1990 levels, conditional on international support,” said Moody's.

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