The key theme of the event is to attain the Sustainable Development Goals and a clean power industry
Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak took part in the high-level dialogue on energy at the UN General Assembly session.
Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said the dialogue was playing an important role in pooling international efforts towards ensuring access to inexpensive, reliable and modern energy sources. He noted that the world’s energy consumption continued to grow.
“According to forecasts,
energy consumption is expected to increase by 50 percent by 2040. However, even
today every fifth person in the world has no guaranteed access to electricity.
Russia’s priority is to eliminate energy poverty and ensure affordable energy
sources for consumers all over the world,” Mr Novak said.
At the same time, these efforts should not restrict access to energy or be used
to counter climate change, he noted, “Our key task is to achieve synergy
between the measures to enhance global energy security, supply the global
economy and the population with affordable energy sources and the resolution of
climate-related problems,” Mr Novak said. In the process, climate challenges must
not be used as an argument in the competition for energy markets, he added.
Russia’s energy policy is aimed at enhancing energy efficiency and reducing
contaminating emissions. “Russia’s energy balance is one of the most
progressive in the world. Non-carbon or
low-carbon sources produce about 87 percent of energy in this country. Natural
gas, the cleanest fossil fuel, amounts to 46 percent of this figure, and
non-carbon generation such as hydropower stations, nuclear power stations and renewable
energy sources (RES) to 41 percent,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
“Russia is gradually increasing RES in its energy balance. By 2035, its share
may be brought to 45 percent and the share of low-carbon energy sources to 90
percent,” Mr Novak noted. Natural gas will remain one of the main energy
sources in the world’s energy balance for a long time owing to its environmental
performance. LNG and nuclear energy will also play an important role.
“Russia is the world leader in nuclear energy generation. At present, we are developing innovative technology: zero waste reactors and low capacity nuclear power stations. In addition, Russia has created favourable conditions for developing hydrogen energy. We plan to be among the world’s leaders in hydrogen production,” Mr Novak said.
In conclusion, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasised that Russia would continue to be a reliable supplier of energy resources, such as electricity, piped and liquefied natural gas, to the world markets. “It is important to maintain a balance between traditional and alternative energy sources. This is the only possible path of evolution to the low-carbon future without damage to energy security,” he said.
