Baku, 4 December 2021: The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) held an event in the Absheron National Park to observe European Mobility Week.

The purpose of the event was to raise awareness about the country’s efforts in the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions by promoting eco-friendly transportation means in Azerbaijan.

At the event, a newly established covered bicycle parking was unveiled including 20 labeled bicycles, helmets and bike locks. An updated and redesigned map with all the information about Absheron’s national park landmarks, bike routes and parking spots was also showcased during the presentation.

“Reducing the impact of climate change depends not only on governments or the private sector but on every citizen, on every individual, on each of us. We can contribute to the process by changing our habits and lifestyle. Considering the share of greenhouse gas emissions in transport, it is important to use environmentally friendly vehicles,” said Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Mukhtar Babayev.

"Today’s inauguration of a bicycle station in the Absheron National park is a symbolic act that stands for creating public awareness for smart and sustainable, emission-free mobility. I am convinced that the uptake of such offers of green mobility will expand very rapidly in Azerbaijan. The EU stands ready for further cooperation in this area,” said Zoltan Szalai, Charge d’Affaires of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan.

“We need to harness the power of innovation to advance sustainable transport and accelerate progress towards 2030. The way we manage our cities today and their growth in the future can help shift us to low or zero-emission transport. UNDP looks forward to working closely with MENR and all stakeholders to advance sustainable transport for sustainable development,“ said Charu Bist, UNDP Resident Representative a.i. in Azerbaijan.

An amateur bicycle race was organized with the participation of the event attendees, including officials of ministries and diplomatic missions.

The event was attended by the Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Leyla Aliyeva, UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan Vladanka Andreeva, Azerbaijan Defense Industry Minister Madat Guliyev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belgium to the Republic of Azerbaijan, Michel Peetermans, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Tajikistan to the Republic of Azerbaijan, Rustam Soli, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria to the Republic of Azerbaijan, Nikolay Hristov Yankov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Greece to the Republic of Azerbaijan, Nikolaos Piperigos, UK Ambassador to Azerbaijan James Sharp, representatives of the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq to the Republic of Azerbaijan, and head of IOM mission in Azerbaijan, Vladimir Gjorgjiev.

This event was organized as part of the EU4Climate regional project, which is implemented by UNDP in partnership with the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, with funding from the European Union. The project is supporting the governments in the six EU Eastern Partner countries to take action against climate change.

 

Media contact:

For media inquiries, please contact Dilara Umudova, Communications Officer for UNDP in Azerbaijan at dilara.umudova@undp.org.

Gulnara Bayramova, Press and Information Officer at the Delegation of the European Union to Azerbaijan at gulnara.bayramova@eeas.europa.eu.

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