Ilham Aliyev: The world cannot live without fossil fuels, and countries rich in fossil fuels should not be condemned for this

The world cannot live without fossil fuels, and countries rich in fossil fuels should not be condemned for this. You mentioned COP. In one of my messages as the head of the host country of COP, I said exactly that - we should not be blamed for having oil and gas.

As reported by BAKU.WS, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev stated this at a meeting with a delegation from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

"I added that many of the previous COP host countries produce ten times more oil and gas than Azerbaijan, but were not attacked by the media. My message was that countries should be judged by how they use the revenues from hydrocarbon exports. And here in Azerbaijan, everyone can see that the distribution of wealth is carried out very fairly. Secondly, judged by what contribution these countries make to solving the climate problem. In our case, when we have natural gas reserves for at least one hundred years not only for domestic consumption but also for export, investing and attracting investments in renewable energy sources (RES) truly demonstrates our responsibility.

As I already said, we already have 2 gigawatts of energy, and by 2032 - according to signed contracts, not memorandums of understanding - we will receive an additional 7-8 gigawatts of solar and wind energy," the head of state noted.