KEY FINDINGS

The global situation has led to a rethinking of decarbonization processes.

"Taking into account all the events that have taken place <...> in the international energy markets, it is necessary to rethink decarbonization itself, the movement in this direction and the path that we must go through in order to achieve all our goals, which, undoubtedly, have been preserved. The reassessment of opportunities globally occurred primarily in European markets, of course, and in North American ones. <...> Everyone understood that traditional energy sources are a base, and from this base it is necessary to dance from the point of view of carbon neutrality. It is necessary to change this base in an evolutionary way," said Evgeny Grabchak, Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation.

"Electricity is the lowest carbon carrier, especially if it is produced on the basis of hydropower or renewable energy sources. — Ed.] or an atom. <...> In a situation of high energy prices, everyone is running towards coal. It turns out to be cheaper. How optimal this is from the point of view of ecology and from the point of view of social aspects, the quality of jobs that this industry creates, we must carefully understand," — expert of the Project Center for Energy Transition and ESG principles of the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) Irina Gayda.

"We have a unique experience in the construction of the Kola wind farm, where our partner was the well-known international company Siemens Gamesa. This project is unique in many ways, it is located beyond the Arctic circle, in the tundra, among moss, rocks, with fantastic wind potential. <...> In the middle of this project, our international partner left us without saying goodbye. In the shortest possible weeks, we mastered the full cycle of construction of wind turbines together with a domestic partner. Of course, we faced difficulties there," Oleg Kosmenyuk, Deputy General Director and Director of Generation at PJSC Enel Russia.

PROBLEMS

The need to achieve technological sovereignty in the energy sector more quickly.

"The first trend, it seems to me, that should be paid attention to is the challenges and opportunities of import substitution. Historically, our partners have been European companies. Now, of course, the list of technology partners has expanded and shifted to the East. This is a good moment that requires long-term and consistent programs to develop our own production, our own energy engineering, strengthen it and bring it to the level of global competitiveness. This applies not only to gas energy, but also to renewable energy sources, especially since there is a very good scientific foundation here. The second is the reorientation of the economy towards eastern and southern directions, including energy—intensive industries, which initially developed rapidly during logistics to European markets. They will shift more likely to those regions where logistics are more successful to achieve in the Asia-Pacific region, Africa, and possibly Latin America," — expert of the Project Center for Energy Transition and ESG principles of the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) Irina Gayda.

"Gazprom sets a task for itself to develop domestic technologies in the field of hydrogen energy. <...> We must always be ready, including for the resumption of such a hydrogen market, in order to be ready, it is important to ensure technological sovereignty, which is what we are doing now," Konstantin Romanov, General Director of Gazprom Hydrogen LLC.

DECISIONS

Achieving carbon neutrality

"If we look at the situation soberly, then we will probably keep one of the greenest energy balances and the most carbon-neutral, relying on gas as the main source of energy," Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Yevgeny Grabchak said.

Decarbonization and renewable energy projects contribute to business development.

"We have the largest plant and the only plant for solar energy, <...> just the other day we completed and received a positive technical opinion on conductive silver paste, <...> today we have invector production in the Omsk region, these are some other companies - installation, IT services. Therefore, we can say that this has a synergistic effect. If the share of VIA, the share of solar energy in the energy balance will increase, accordingly, it will stimulate other types of business," — Zoya Sanjieva, General Director of Hevel LLC.

"All decarbonization projects contribute in one way or another to the technological re-equipment of our industry, which is especially important in the current conditions. This allows us to provide a more sustainable and efficient business for our customers and, accordingly, our business. We will continue this work, and, in this regard, the support of the regulator is very important," — First Vice President of Gazprombank (Joint Stock Company) Natalia Tretyak.