The International Hybrid Workshop “Towards Sustainable Energy: Regional Cooperation and Global Context” was arranged on 18-19 May in Baku by UNECON as a preparatory discussion towards the International Scientific Conference “Energetika 21”. The co-organiser was Azerbaijan State University of Economics (UNEC), a long-standing university partner of UNECON. The workshop was held at the historical campus of UNEC under the fortress walls of the Old City — Icheri Sheher.

Azerbaijan is not only the cradle of the world oil and gas industry, an important center for the production and export of oil and gas, but also has a great potential for renewable energy production and transit. The increasing role of transport and logistics in the country opens a wide range of possibilities for creating export routes of low-carbon energy with Russia, Turkey and Central Asian countries, for green technologies, hydrogen production and export. This background has determined the relevance of the workshop topic.

More than 110 participants (55 offline and 45 online) from Kazakhstan, Russia, Germany, the UK and other countries joined the workshop. It is worth mentioning the participation of the field- oriented Ministries of Azerbaijan, as well as the experts from the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies and The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).

The first day addressed the topic of decarbonisation of Azerbaijan economy: the session was focused on challenges for an energy transition in Azerbaijan (cement industry, transport, heating sector and CCUS) as well as regional strategies of hydrogen production in Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey and Central Asian countries. A lively discussion on possible cooperation of Caspian region countries in energy sector was held after the session.

The second day was devoted to the 6th Assessment report of the IPCC published in March 2023 and various national approaches to achieve the targets of the Paris agreement. The final panel discussion addressed the prospects for achieving the goals of Paris agreement both in Azerbaijan and in the Caspian region generally.

UNECON express its gratitude for the help and assistance in organization to the rector of UNEC prof. Adalat Muradov and the director of the Department for Scientific Research Management prof. Zakhid Farrukh Mamedov, as well as all UNEC staff that assisted during the workshop.