Two years after COP29, Azerbaijan turns climate commitments into investment

Azerbaijan has committed up to 1 billion manat (€540 million) to climate-resilient irrigation infrastructure under its 2026-2030 state programme, as the country hosted a regional climate week two years after staging COP29 in Baku.

The figure, announced by Agriculture Minister Majnun Mammadov at Baku Climate Action Week, represents nearly 40% of the state agricultural budget earmarked for climate adaptation.

The funding will support modern irrigation systems across the South Caucasus, where water shortages, shifting growing seasons and soil degradation are accelerating.

The government also launched an AI-based farmer scoring system this year, developed in partnership with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

First piloted in 2024 and tested in 2025, the digital platform distributes advance subsidy payments to smallholder farmers managing between five and 100 hectares.

Mammadov said eligibility is assessed across three criteria: adoption of modern farming practices, the economic value of the chosen crop, and whether the farmer uses water-saving or soil-regenerating techniques.

"The scoring system evaluates three fundamental pillars," Mammadov told Euronews. "First, the adoption of modern agricultural practices, second, the economic value and profitability of the crop for the farmer and the wider economy."

"And third, ecological impact. How the selected crop interacts with soil health and whether the farmer utilises climate-supporting subsidies like soil-regenerating or water-saving techniques."

Smallholder farmers are the most exposed to climate volatility across the Caucasus, where minor shifts in temperature or water availability can destroy yields.

Mammadov said international investors in local farming infrastructure would receive the same subsidy access as domestic operators.

"Agriculture is in a very unique position, it is causing climate change, and it is being affected by climate change," FAO Representative in Azerbaijan Nasar Hayat said.

'Opportunity to build'

Separately, the UN Industrial Development Organisation urged Azerbaijan to prioritise domestic industrial use of green hydrogen before pursuing European export ambitions.

Petra Schwager, chief of UNIDO's climate and technology partnership division, said pipeline exports to Europe would take years because the infrastructure does not yet exist.

In the short term, she said, green hydrogen derivatives such as green ammonia could be used in domestic fertiliser manufacturing and shipping fuels.

"The true benchmark of success for industrial decarbonisation is not policy pledges or technology partnerships, but verifiable CO2 emission reductions," Schwager said.

On financing, Turkey announced two new mechanisms ahead of COP31 in Antalya: BRIDGE, a technical support platform for developing countries to structure investment-ready projects, built alongside the UN Development Programme, and SURF, which adapts a Turkish municipal lending model to scale low-cost credit lines to cities across developing nations.

Fatma Varank, CEO of COP31 and Deputy Minister of Turkey's Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, pointed to the long-term cooperation between host nations.

"Along our shared journey from Baku to Antalya, we have an opportunity to build on this foundation and achieve stronger outcomes by sharing experiences, deepening partnerships and channelling climate finance towards tangible implementation," Varank said.

Azerbaijan's Deputy Foreign Minister Yalchin Rafiyev confirmed that a Black Sea subsea cable project to carry renewable electricity from Azerbaijan and Central Asia to European markets remains a priority.

"Continuity between the COPs is extremely important in order to keep the legacy for the host country, but at the same time, globally it is very important," Rafiyev told Euronews.

He said COP29's legacy had brought Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan forward with specific green grid proposals.

At COP29 in 2024, wealthier nations agreed to provide at least $300 billion (€258 billion) per year by 2035 to help developing countries cut emissions and manage climate impacts.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said at the time the deal provided "a base on which to build" but fell short of what the crisis required.

According to Jens Nielsen, Founder and CEO of the World Climate Foundation, global climate diplomacy is undergoing a structural evolution, which is “changing from the politics of climate change to the economics of climate change."

"We need to move beyond commitments and action straight into bankable financial transactions," Nielsen told Euronews.

Baku Climate Action Week was held in parallel with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change regional climate week for Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia.