Azerbaijan aims to expand the Southern Gas Corridor, Azernews reports, citing Azerbaijan's Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov as he telling at the first day of the Baku Energy Forum, which started today.

According to him, it has already been confirmed that Azerbaijan transports 24.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year with the SGC.

"With this, the volume of natural gas transported to Europe alone has increased to 12 billion cubic meters. Azerbaijan has undertaken gas transmission to its partners as an obligation. The agreement signed yesterday between the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and the state oil and gas company of Turkiye - BOTAS is an indicator of this, that is, it will further strengthen the role of Azerbaijan as a supplier and transit of gas," minister added.

He also touched on Azerbaijan's energy security.

"Azerbaijan's goal is to ensure energy security, as it was 30 years ago," Shahbazov said.

"At COP29, steps will be taken together with international partners to combat climate change," he noted.

Recall that Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, will host the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 29) for the first time in the region from November 11–22, 2024. The decision was made at the plenary session of COP28 on December 11. Azerbaijan successfully participated in the COP28 held in Abu Dhabi last year.

Azerbaijan will take the opportunity to bring heads of state and governments, civil society organisations, business, and international institutions together in the South Caucasus to discuss climate change, measures to accelerate the implementation of the Paris Agreement, and focus on long-term climate strategies and goals.

It is worth noting that Azerbaijan confirmed its commitment to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases by 35 percent by 2030 and increase this target by 40 percent by 2050. Fulfilling the commitments under the Paris Agreement adopted in 2015 and actively working in this regard are priority issues for the government of Azerbaijan.

The Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has been held annually since 1995. The event aims to assess the progress made in combating climate change around the world.