Baku (Turkey News) Azerbaijan, in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), has hosted World Environment Day in the capital Baku.
According to the Azerbaijani state news agency, the event was held under the theme “Inspired by Nature, for Climate, for Our Future.”
At the ceremony, Mukhtar Babayev, the President’s Representative for Environmental Affairs, read out President Ilham Aliyev’s message to participants.
Speaking at the event, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Rashad Ismayilov said that environment, forests, biodiversity, oceans, rivers, and air are all shared human assets, and their protection requires balancing economic development, social welfare, and environmental sustainability.
He said Azerbaijan considers sustainable development and the promotion of renewable energy a priority, and aims to increase the share of renewable sources in the overall energy system to 30% by 2030.
According to him, these targets will provide a foundation for reducing greenhouse gas emissions under the Paris Agreement by 2035.
The minister further said that natural resources and ecosystems in territories previously under Armenian control had suffered severe damage in the past, but large-scale restoration and reconstruction work is now underway in these areas in accordance with environmental principles.
He added that technical assistance for environmental restoration has been obtained from the United Nations Environment Programme, for which the government has expressed gratitude to the organization.
UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said that Azerbaijan is playing an important role in environmental initiatives at global, regional, and national levels, and has demonstrated climate leadership, particularly through hosting COP29.
