BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 1. The EU is prepared to
examine additional avenues of support to Azerbaijan in renewable
energy, Director of the Energy Platform Task Force,
Directorate-General for Energy at the European Commission, Cristina
Lobillo Borrero said in an exclusive interview with Trend ahead of the Baku Energy
Week.
She noted that Azerbaijan can play an important role in EU
energy transition.
"The EU’s climate objective is clear: climate neutrality by 2050
is a legally-binding target under the European Climate Law. At the
same time, the transition must be secure, orderly and affordable.
That means natural gas will continue to play a role during the
transition, particularly for security of supply, system flexibility
and certain industrial uses. The EU’s strategy is to reduce
fossil-fuel demand structurally through energy efficiency,
renewables, electrification, storage, grids and demand-side
flexibility. AccelerateEU reinforces this direction: reducing
exposure to volatile fossil-fuel markets is both a climate
objective and an energy-security imperative. Partner countries such
as Azerbaijan can play an important role in this transition period
in two ways. First, by remaining reliable suppliers where gas is
still needed, contributing to diversification and security of
supply. Second, by working with the EU on reducing the emissions
footprint of the energy sector," said Borrero.
She believes that methane mitigation is particularly
important.
"Azerbaijan has joined the Global Methane Pledge, and SOCAR
joined the Oil & Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 in 2024. This provides
a strong basis for practical cooperation on measurement, reporting,
verification, leak detection and repair, and reducing routine
flaring and venting. This is not only about climate policy. It is
also about improving efficiency, reducing waste and modernising the
oil and gas sector. The EU–Azerbaijan energy partnership already
provides several mechanisms for cooperation: the High-level Energy
Dialogue, the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council, the Green
Energy Advisory Council, and investment-focused exchanges with
international financial institutions and European companies. In the
context of the Southern Gas Corridor Ministerial meetings in March,
the EU and Azerbaijan also convened a Green Connectivity Investment
Roundtable with international financial institutions (IFIs) and EU
companies to discuss regional energy connectivity, renewable energy
and energy efficiency. The EU is prepared to examine additional
avenues of support, including guarantees, blended finance and
targeted regulatory assistance," Borrero said.
