Amin Mammadov: Nearly 20% of Absheron is contaminated by oil

Almost one-fifth of the Absheron peninsula is contaminated with oil as a result of many years of hydrocarbon extraction, said Deputy Chairman of the Public Council under the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources Amin Mammadov at the event "Dialogue on Just Transition: Ensuring a Just Transition to a Green Economy in Azerbaijan," Report informs.

"The total area of the Absheron Peninsula exceeds 280,000 hectares. Approximately 20% of this territory is contaminated with oil. Currently, these areas are on the balance sheets of the state and the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan – SOCAR. It is gratifying that SOCAR has directed significant investments toward cleaning up a large portion of these lands. Of course, problems in this area still persist, but the scale of work already completed is also quite substantial," Mammadov noted.

Mammadov also touched upon Azerbaijan's strategy for transitioning to "green energy." He recalled that the country is a participant in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and in 2024, Baku hosted the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to this convention.

According to him, within the framework of the commitments undertaken, Azerbaijan has already set goals for the coming years.

"By 2030, it is planned to ensure more than 40% of total energy supply from alternative energy sources, and under favorable conditions, to bring this figure to 50%," Mammadov stated.

The expert called this goal quite ambitious but achievable given the necessary potential.