The 26th UN conference on climate change continues in Glasgow, Scotland. Russian President Vladimir Putin attended it only online, which earned him a reproach from his American counterpart Joe Biden. The owner of the White House accused Moscow that, in his opinion, it is not actively fighting climate change.
Meanwhile, the Russian government approved the Strategy for Socio-Economic Development with Low Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Its goal is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Experts, in turn, draw attention to the fact that the authorities subsidize the oil and gas industry with one hand, and the development of “green” technologies with the other. Nevertheless, a number of environmentalists believe that the country has every chance of delivering on its promise and achieving carbon neutrality within the specified time frame.
Subsidies to oil and gas to the detriment of renewable energy
“The disappointment stems from the fact that Russia and China did not actually appear in terms of any commitments to combat climate change,” US President Biden told reporters following a two-day climate summit in Glasgow. Prior to that, some environmental organizations and even UN Secretary General António Guterres were skeptical about the statements of the G20 member countries about their efforts to combat climate change. “I am leaving Rome with unrealized hopes. But at least they are not completely buried,” Guterres wrote on Twitter.
“It seems to me that this is a politicized position,” Vladimir Chuprov, director of projects at the Russian branch of Greenpeace, assessed Biden’s statement. say that they have taken the path (keeping the temperature rise on the planet by no more than. – Ed.) 1.5 degrees. “At the same time, Chuprov notes that Russia is really not yet taking decisive action to embark on the path of decarbonization of its economy.
Russian “green” hydrogen can be supplied to the world market
On the one hand, projects that are potentially successful in a “carbon-free future” are emerging in the country. Chuprov cited as an example the Penzhinskaya tidal station in the Sea of Okhotsk, the project of which is currently under development. In theory, it will be able to produce about 6 tons of “green” hydrogen per year for supply to the Japanese, Korean and Chinese markets.
“There is a subsidization (of renewable energy. – Ed.), the industry will receive 1.5-2 trillion rubles by 2035, Chuprov notes. “But this is much less than what the oil and gas industry gets.” For example, Gazpromneft is exempted from payments for flaring associated petroleum gas at the Prirazlomnoye field.
Nuclear power plants – not an option?
In order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Russia plans to develop, among other things, nuclear power plants, according to Russia’s low-carbon development strategy adopted on November 1. Experts say that nuclear energy cannot be assessed unambiguously. “On the one hand, this is clean energy, it is close to carbon-neutral. But from a public point of view, it seems dangerous,” notes Alexander Lebedev, senior lecturer at the Higher School of Business at the Higher School of Economics.
In his opinion, Russia will invest more in the development of relevant technologies if politicians agree that nuclear energy can be “clean”. If such a consensus cannot be reached, the investments are likely to remain at the same level, but they will definitely not be reduced to zero, Lebedev said.
Vladimir Chuprov from Greenpeace objected in absentia, noting that nuclear power plants can hardly be seriously considered when discussing decarbonization. He draws attention to the fact that today “the share of nuclear energy in the generation of primary energy in Russia is about 5-6% – and this includes transport, heating of the heat economy.” Considering that many Russian nuclear power plants will become obsolete in the near future, new nuclear power plants, according to Chuprov, will replace the existing ones, and not create additional capacities. As a result, this is not enough for sufficient heat production.
Is Russia showing a realistic approach?
The emphasis on increasing the absorptive capacity of forests looks convincing in the Russian low-carbon development strategy, says Alexei Kokorin, director of the Climate and Energy Program of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF – Russia). He emphasizes that this capacity of forests can be increased by 2-2.5 times: “Scientists and experts believe that these are technically simple measures, it’s just costly. But Russia has that kind of money. (greenhouse gases. – Ed.) forests “.
Russia plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060
Kokorin calls Russia’s plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 realistic. “All developed countries and countries of Annex 1 of the UN Climate Convention plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050,” the expert recalled. “It’s very good that Russia did not try to pass off wishful thinking.” Kokorin cites India (carbon neutrality by 2070) and Vietnam (by 2050) as countries that will probably not cope with their declared goals of decarbonizing the economy.
Kokorin’s colleague at Greenpeace, Vladimir Chuprov, suggests that Russia’s current hesitation in developing low-carbon technologies in the next ten years could cause turbulence. The electrification of transport, the introduction of energy-saving technologies and alternative ways to insulate houses in countries consuming Russian fossil fuels could lead to the fact that the peak of oil consumption will be reached by 2030, Chuprov warned.
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