Since the main sources of greenhouse gases in Russia are industry and transport, when analyzing the progress Russia is making to reduce its emissions it is worth focusing on these areas. Let’s think about what results would allow Russia to come significantly closer to achieving its goals to reduce greenhouse gases.[1]
The first indicator is the dynamics of changes in the structure of the country’s fuel and energy balance. Now in Russia there is a high share of low-carbon nuclear power plants and hydroelectric power plants, practically zero combustion of fuel oil and diesel fuel, plus the main thermal power generation on gas, which is the cleanest hydrocarbon fuel in terms of emissions. As a result, only coal-fired thermal power plants and boiler houses (mainly in Siberia) remain completely dirty. An important indicator of progress will be a reduction in the share of electricity generation by thermal power plants and an increase in the share of renewable energy. The latest data on these indicators are available on the website of the Ministry of Energy of Russia on 01.01.2020 and are periodically updated.
Structure of installed capacity of power plants of the united energy systems and the UES of Russia as of 01.01.2020
| Region | Total, MW | THERMAL POWER PLANT | HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANT | NUCLEAR POWER PLANT | WIND FARM | SES | ||||||
| Mw | % | Mw | % | Mw | % | Mw | % | Mw | % | |||
| United energy system (UES) OF RUSSIA | 246 342,45 | 164612,14 | 66,82 | 49870,29 | 20,24 | 30 313,18 | 12,31 | 184,12 | 0,07 | 1362,72 | 0,55 | |
Source: Ministry of Energy of Russia (https://minenergo.gov.ru/node/532)
The second indicator is the level of gasification of Russia. At the end of 2020, the level of gasification of the country was approximately 71%. As the country’s gasification increases, the use of dirty coal will decrease. The higher the indicator, the closer Russia is to achieving its climate goals. At the end of 2021, the level of gasification was 72%.[2] This indicator should be tracked from public statements of the Ministry of Energy of Russia.
The third indicator is the number of the largest Russian companies from among the top 100 that publicly published reports in the fields of climate change or sustainable development. Business is the main driver of climate change, as companies begin to think about sustainable development, the situation with climate responsibility in Russia will improve.
According to the latest data at the beginning of 2021, only 64 out of the 100 largest Russian companies disclose their climate reporting,[3] for the rest of the company’s climate change issues are not yet interesting. If we don’t know how much greenhouse gas emissions a company produces each year it’s not possible to fully correctly determine how it impacts Russia’s total emissions. We will observe an increase in climate responsibility by Russian companies in the future.
Thus, the system of unique indicators for measurement progress of Russia’s climate change mitigation efforts is formed:
| PERFORMANCE INDICATOR | BASELINE VALUE | DATE |
| The structure of the country’s fuel and energy balance | 66.8% – Thermal PP
20.2% – Hydro PP 12.3% – Nuclear PP 0.07% – Wind PP 0.55% – Solar PP |
01.01.2020 |
| The level of gasification of Russia | 72% | 31.12.2021 |
| The number of the largest Russian companies disclosing sustainable development | 64 out of 100 | 01.01.2021 |
Resources
[1] Recall that According to the “Strategy for the Socio-economic Development of the Russian Federation with Low Greenhouse Gas Emissions Until 2050”, the baseline scenario assumes a reduction in the carbon intensity of GDP by 9% by 2030 and 48% by 2050 (from the level of 2017), as well as a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by a third by 2030 (from the level of 1990).
[2] RIA Novosti https://ria.ru/20220112/gazifikatsiya-1767470112.html
[3]Rating agency AK&M https://akmrating. ru/reytingotchetnostiesg/
This Post was submitted by Climate Scorecard Russia Country Manager Michael Oshchepkov