Two years after hosting COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan is moving from climate pledges to concrete investment. At Baku Climate Action Week, Agriculture Minister Majnun Mammadov announced a state programme for 2026-2030 that commits up to 1 billion manat (€540 million) to climate-resilient irrigation infrastructure. That sum represents nearly 40% of the state agricultural budget dedicated to climate adaptation.
The funding will modernise irrigation systems across the South Caucasus, a region where water scarcity, shifting growing seasons, and soil degradation are intensifying. Smallholder farmers, who manage plots between five and 100 hectares, are particularly vulnerable to climate volatility; even minor temperature or rainfall changes can wipe out harvests.
AI-driven subsidies for sustainable farming
Alongside the irrigation push, Azerbaijan has rolled out an AI-based farmer-scoring system developed with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). First piloted in 2024 and tested in 2025, the digital platform distributes advance subsidy payments to smallholders who adopt water-saving or soil-regenerating techniques.
Mammadov explained that eligibility is assessed on three pillars: adoption of modern farming practices, the economic value and profitability of the chosen crop, and ecological impact—how the crop interacts with soil health and whether the farmer uses climate-supporting subsidies. “The scoring system evaluates three fundamental pillars,” he told Euronews. “First, the adoption of modern agricultural practices, second, the economic value and profitability of the crop for the farmer and the wider economy. And third, ecological impact.”
International investors in local farming infrastructure will receive the same subsidy access as domestic operators, a move aimed at attracting foreign capital to the sector.
FAO Representative in Azerbaijan Nasar Hayat underscored the dual role of agriculture: “Agriculture is in a very unique position, it is causing climate change, and it is being affected by climate change.”
Green hydrogen: domestic first, exports later
Separately, the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) urged Azerbaijan to focus on domestic use of green hydrogen before pursuing European export ambitions. Petra Schwager, chief of UNIDO's climate and technology partnership division, said pipeline exports to Europe would take years because the infrastructure does not yet exist. In the short term, she suggested that green hydrogen derivatives such as green ammonia could be used in domestic fertiliser manufacturing and shipping fuels.
“The true benchmark of success for industrial decarbonisation is not policy pledges or technology partnerships, but verifiable CO2 emission reductions,” Schwager said.
Regional cooperation and COP continuity
On the financing front, Turkey announced two new mechanisms ahead of COP31 in Antalya: BRIDGE, a technical support platform for developing countries to structure investment-ready projects, built with the UN Development Programme, and SURF, which adapts a Turkish municipal lending model to scale low-cost credit lines to cities across developing nations.
Fatma Varank, CEO of COP31 and Deputy Minister of Turkey's Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, stressed the importance of continuity between host nations. “Along our shared journey from Baku to Antalya, we have an opportunity to build on this foundation and achieve stronger outcomes by sharing experiences, deepening partnerships and channelling climate finance towards tangible implementation,” she said.
Azerbaijan's Deputy Foreign Minister Yalchin Rafiyev confirmed that a Black Sea subsea cable project to carry renewable electricity from Azerbaijan and Central Asia to European markets remains a priority. “Continuity between the COPs is extremely important in order to keep the legacy for the host country, but at the same time, globally it is very important,” he told Euronews. He added that COP29's legacy had brought Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan forward with specific green grid proposals.
The backdrop is the $300 billion (€258 billion) annual climate finance pledge agreed at COP29 by wealthier nations to help developing countries cut emissions and manage climate impacts. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the deal “a base on which to build” but acknowledged it fell short of what the crisis required.
Jens Nielsen, founder and CEO of the World Climate Foundation, sees a structural shift in global climate diplomacy: it is “changing from the politics of climate change to the economics of climate change.”
For Azerbaijan, the challenge now is to ensure that the €540 million irrigation plan and the AI subsidy system deliver measurable results on the ground. The country's broader climate strategy also includes visa liberalisation for Baku Grand Prix visitors, a move that could boost tourism revenue while the nation positions itself as a regional climate hub. Meanwhile, European satellites monitoring vegetation and climate will provide crucial data for such adaptation efforts. As the world watches, the test will be whether these investments translate into resilient livelihoods and lower emissions.
