(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 20. Environmental protection and social inclusion go hand in hand, reinforcing one another and driving economic growth across the EBRD's regions, said Maya Hennerkes, Managing Director of the Environment and Sustainability Department at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), in an exclusive interview with Trend.

"Where you have strong environmental protection, that also provides a greater assurance for all social groups. By protecting the environment, we're also fostering social inclusion, and by supporting both, we absolutely bring about economic development in the bank's regions," Hennerkes said.

She noted that while climate change presents major challenges, it also creates new opportunities. "We have a huge transformation process happening in industries - a massive industrial and economic transformation. And with that come new high-quality jobs in green industry areas and business opportunities through improved natural capital," she explained.

However, Hennerkes acknowledged that environmental and social goals may occasionally conflict. "We see that, for example, when we're financing a wind farm that may affect the livelihoods of locals working in that area," she said. "This is where we work very carefully through our environmental and social policy to make sure that by pursuing one goal, we're never negatively impacting another".

Turning to Azerbaijan, the bank's rep emphasized the country's strong potential for green growth. "Azerbaijan specifically has great untapped potential for this green transformation," she said. "It was very inspiring to see the momentum during COP29 in Baku, where we saw a lot of signings with Azerbaijani companies for green energy".

The EBRD, she added, has already financed about 1.2 GW of renewable energy capacity in Azerbaijan. "We are expecting CO2 emissions reductions of 600,000 tons annually from those investments. But it also generates clean electricity for 300,000 homes. If you have homes that have clean electricity instead of using diesel generators, that has clear positive health impacts - so socially, it's also very beneficial," Hennerkes said.

She also highlighted the EBRD's support for Azerbaijan's renewable energy auctions. "We've been involved in every utility-scale renewable project and also helped the government design the auction system for energy projects. It's a really good thing for the market - it brings transparency and attracts other investors who then feel confident to invest in Azerbaijan's energy sector," she explained.

"Overall, there's a huge potential, and we're definitely very excited to do more with Azerbaijan. We're actively looking for more projects - and for the right projects," she concluded.

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