Green Course on Greening and Decarbonization of the Economy of

Russia and the World

Fatima Dahaeva

1 a

and Laura Karaketova

Chechen State University, Grozny named after A.A. Kadyrova, Grozny, Russian Federation

North Caucasian State Academy, Cherkessk, Russian Federation

Keywords: Global decarbonization, economy, climate, global nature, green technologies, territory, national conditions,

economic and environmental priorities.

Abstract: The global transition to low-carbon development is a response to global climate change caused by

anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into the atmosphere. The goal of decarbonization is to reduce,

and ideally eliminate, these emissions, in order to thereby mitigate (slow down) climate change and minimize

the damage they cause. The implementation of this goal will have the most serious impact on the world

economy and Russia. The changes will affect the energy sector, transport, construction, industry and

agriculture. The requirements for land and forest management will become more stringent. One outcome of

the transition to low-carbon development will be a reduction in demand for fossil fuels and an increase in the

role of renewable and other green energy sources. In the recently adopted Strategy for Russia's Economic

Security, the change in the structure of world demand for energy resources, the development of energy-saving

and green technologies are classified as the main challenges and threats to the country's economic security.

However, these trends are considered in the strategy without linking to global actions to mitigate climate

change and with the achievement of established goals to limit the increase in average temperature within

limits that exclude catastrophic consequences for nature and humans. This creates the danger of

misinterpreting these trends as harmful or even malicious, directed against the interests of Russia, while in

fact they are objective and reflect the desire for the common good. The purpose of this paper is to trace the

evolution of the global climate agenda and international climate agreements, provide an overview of the

actions taken at the national and subnational levels to mitigate climate change and transition to low-carbon

development, and assess the impact of these actions on the Russian economy.

1 INTRODUCTION

In recent years, even before the pandemic, in some

countries of the world, in particular in the USA, Great

Britain, Australia and Canada, the ideas of the so-

called Green New Deal, similar to the New Deal of

US President F. Roosevelt, which was used to restore

the American economy after the Great Depression,

began to develop in the 1930s Roosevelt's New Deal

included investment in infrastructure and job

creation, as well as institutional changes such as the

Glass-Steagall Act, which separated commercial and

investment banking. This program had purely

economic goals (Babina, 2020). As sustainable

development has taken root as a key development

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2157-5474

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8924-8349

concept, ideas have begun to emerge that emphasize

economic growth while improving social

performance and reducing environmental damage.

The concept of the Green New Deal included

stimulating the economy through investments in

green industries such as renewable energy and energy

efficiency, sustainable transportation systems,

sustainable agriculture, sustainable forest

management, minimizing the use of primary

resources, waste prevention and recycling, etc., and

also the institutional changes necessary for the

development of these sectors of the economy

(Lapaeva, 2019).

In the United States, the ideas of the Green New

Deal have been discussed since the 2000s. One of his

Dahaeva, F. and Karaketova, L.

Green Course on Greening and Decarbonization of the Economy of Russia and the World.

DOI: 10.5220/0011556100003524

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Methods, Models, Technologies for Sustainable Development (MMTGE 2022) - Agroclimatic Projects and Carbon Neutrality, pages

131-135

ISBN: 978-989-758-608-8

 2023 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

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first mentions was made in The New York Times by

journalist Thomas Friedman in January 2007

(Gakaev, 2019): “If you put a wind turbine in your

yard or install solar panels on your roof, then this is

worthy of gratitude. However, we can only green the

world if we completely change the nature of the

electricity grid and move from dirty coal or oil

generation to renewable energy sources (Murtazova,

2021). And this is a huge industrial project - much

larger than you can imagine. Finally, as with the New

Deal, if we implement a green version of it, it will

create an opportunity to build a new clean energy

industry and boost the development of the 21st

century economy.” The Green New Deal was a key

message in the 2012 and 2016 presidential campaigns

of Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein.

Stein's program called for a national mobilization on

a scale comparable to World War II to combat climate

change, create 20 million new jobs through a

transition to 100% renewable energy by 2030, invest

in public transport, sustainable agriculture, and

preserve and restore critical infrastructure including

ecosystems. At the same time, emphasis was placed

on a fair transformation, in which former workers in

the traditional energy sectors were to move to

alternative jobs with pay during the transition period.

An important point of the Green New Deal by Jill

Stein was the decommissioning of all nuclear and

fossil fuel power plants, as well as the termination of

all projects related to the extraction, processing and

consumption of fossil fuels. Funding for Jill Stein's

Green New Deal was planned to come from a 50%

cut in defense spending, the return of the US military

to the US (a move away from fossil fuels would make

US military presence in many countries unnecessary),

and a carbon tax (Gakaev, 2019; Murtazova, 2021).

The ideas of the Green New Deal were used in the

electoral Bernie Sanders campaign in 2016 when he

ran for the Democratic presidential nomination. In

particular, during the 2016 presidential campaign,

Sanders called for a reduction in fossil fuel subsidies,

a high carbon tax that would make exports of natural

gas and crude oil unprofitable, a moratorium on

nuclear power, as well as investment in renewable

energy, energy efficiency technologies, modernizing

buildings and infrastructure. At the same time,

Sanders' program was not called the Green New Deal

(Gakaev, 2018).

In February 2019, members of the Democratic

Party, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

and Senator Ed Markey, introduced a resolution in the

US Congress demanding a radical transformation of

the American economy called the Green New Deal.

The program aims to reduce net greenhouse gas

emissions to zero in creating new high-paying jobs in

the clean energy sector, creating unprecedented

economic prosperity for all, and countering systemic

social injustice. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ed

Markey's New Green Deal contains a long list of

measures that are expected to achieve this goal

(Gakaev, 2018; Vladimirov, 2019):

− adaptation to climate change;

− modernization of infrastructure;

− Ensuring 100% of demand for electricity from

renewable energy sources;

− improving the efficiency of resource

consumption in existing and new buildings;

− promotion of cleaner production;

− reduction of emissions of pollutants and

greenhouse gases in agriculture;

− investment in clean transport, including public

transport;

− managing the long-term negative impacts of

environmental pollution and climate change on

public health and the economy;

− absorption of greenhouse gases from the

atmosphere and reduction

− environmental pollution through the restoration

of natural ecosystems;

− restoration and protection of fragile and

endangered ecosystems;

− removal of hazardous waste and dismantling of

abandoned sites;

− Identification of other sources of emissions and

pollution and development of measures to

neutralize them;

− support for the international exchange of

technologies, expertise, products, funding and

services in order to ensuring US international

leadership in climate action; and supporting

other countries in the implementation of the

Green New Deal (Vladimirov, 2019).

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ed Markey's

resolution was voted down. There is no estimate of

the cost of implementing the resolution, and the

sources from which the corresponding costs will be

covered are also not proposed. At the same time, the

green agenda is gaining popularity in US politics.

Elected in November 2020, US President Joe Biden,

as part of his election program, made ambitious

proposals for the development of clean energy and the

fight against climate change. The proposals include a

transition to carbon-free energy by 2035. The

priorities are (Molchanova, 2019):

− infrastructure development, including power

grids;

− development of the automotive industry;

MMTGE 2022 - I International Conference "Methods, models, technologies for sustainable development: agroclimatic projects and carbon

neutrality", Kadyrov Chechen State University Chechen Republic, Grozny, st. Sher

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− development of public transport with zero

greenhouse gas emissions;

− development of clean electric power industry;

− improving the energy efficiency of buildings;

− development of energy innovations (energy

storage technologies, hydrogen energy, next

generation building materials, nuclear energy);

− agriculture and environmental protection;

− environmental justice.

The plan has a number of significant

shortcomings. Carbon-free energy does not preclude

the use of nuclear energy, and the proposals do not

ban coal and gas burning, as well as shale gas mining.

The cost of implementing the Joe Biden plan is

estimated at $2 trillion over a four-year period (2021-

2025). Despite the significant green component, Joe

Biden's program does not have the name "Green New

Deal" and does not contain any mention of this

concept (Egorova, 2020).

2 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

In December 2019, the European Commission

published a large-scale action program called the

European Green Deal, which involves a radical

transformation of economic development in Europe.

The goal of the program is to make Europe the world's

first climate-neutral continent by 2050. Those

emissions that cannot be avoided in 2050 will be

offset by natural carbon sinks such as forests and

carbon capture and storage technologies. In essence,

the European Green Deal is a new EU development

strategy that aims to reduce harmful emissions while

creating new jobs and new economic opportunities,

decoupling economic growth from resource use, and

adhering to the principle of inclusion (Molchanova,

2019; Egorova, 2020).

At the moment, the European Green Deal is a

framework program that is only being filled with

concrete content and measures. The key blocks of this

program are:

− decarbonization of the energy sector;

− renovation of buildings, reduction of energy

consumption and energy costs;

− development of green economy sectors;

− development of clean and affordable private

and public transport;

− transition to sustainable agriculture;

− transition to sustainable food supply systems;

− conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity;

− fight against environmental pollution;

− climate action.

As part of these areas, it is planned to reduce

environmental pollution by large industrial facilities,

abandon toxic chemicals, raise standards air quality.

By 2030, measures will be taken to prioritize waste

prevention and to fully switch to reusable and

recyclable packaging (Egorova, 2020). Measures will

be implemented to decarbonize and modernize steel

and cement production. By 2030, 3 billion trees will

be planted. It is also planned to abandon fossil fuel

subsidies, tighten regulation of emissions from road

transport and take measures aimed at the development

of modern energy infrastructure, energy innovation

and the integration of renewable energy into the grid.

To implement the European Green Deal in the

next 10 years, at least 1 trillion euros of public and

private investments (279 billion euros), as well as

funds from the EU budget (503 billion euros) and

national budgets will be attracted. This amount also

takes into account the funds of the Just Transition

Mechanism (at least 100 billion euros), which will be

intended to provide targeted support to regions,

workers and sectors in need of a transition to green

economy. The European Green Deal is still in the

process of formation, and many of its details are

unclear, but it is often criticized. For example, the

costs of its implementation are estimated as

insufficient - only 100 billion euros per year. The

European Commission estimates that reducing

greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 by at least 40%

from 1990 levels will require an investment of 260

billion euros per year over 10 years. In September

2020 European.

The Commission came up with a proposal to make

this goal more ambitious and to reduce greenhouse

gas emissions by 2030 by at least 55% of 1990 levels.

Such a goal would require additional costs.

Accordingly, the costs of implementing the European

Green Deal should be significantly higher (Meckling,

2020).

In a number of other countries, such as the UK,

Canada, Australia, discussions have also been held in

recent years about the development and

implementation of the Green New Deal, but so far

mainly within academic and activist circles. The

pandemic has given new impetus to these discussions.

For example, in 2020, the Australian Green Party

called on communities and all stakeholders to work

on a Green New Deal in order to overcome the

COVID-19 crisis, as well as to increase the fairness

and inclusiveness of the Australian economic system.

As part of the ongoing Green New Deal program, a

100% transition to renewable energy by 2030 is

proposed, as well as improving the quality of waste

collection and sorting, developing high-speed

Green Course on Greening and Decarbonization of the Economy of Russia and the World

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railways and public transport, creating a green

industry sector, and investing in healthcare, education

and R&D. It should be noted that the Australian

Green Party's Green New Deal does not have a carbon

neutrality goal, with a significant emphasis on the

social aspects of development (Vladimirov, 2019).

The required investment is estimated by the

Australian Green Party at 198 billion Australian

dollars (145 billion US dollars), of which 30% is

proposed to be directed to the development of green

infrastructure, which refers to renewable energy,

clean transport, affordable housing and waste

management. The implementation of the program

will create 870,000 new jobs, 30% of which will be

in the green infrastructure sector (Gakaev, 2018).

In South Korea, after the victory of the

Democratic Party in the elections to the National

Assembly, the country's leadership began promoting

the Green New Deal. It also includes achieving

carbon neutrality by 2050. This goal is planned to be

achieved by eliminating fossil fuel subsidies,

introducing a carbon tax, investing in renewable

energy sources, and creating low-carbon industrial

complexes. A special center will be created to support

workers who are switching from coal to renewable

energy.

3 CONCLUSIONS

In general, from the analysis of the international

context of the formation and implementation of the

New Green Deal the following conclusions follow

(Gakaev, 2018):

1. The existing programs, including the officially

adopted European Green Deal, are still of a

framework nature, and they need to be

developed and specified.

2. A key element of most of the Green New Deal

programs in the world at the moment is the

transition to carbon neutrality by 2050.

3. The sectors of the economy that will receive

support in all programs of the Green New Deal

are renewable energy and energy efficiency,

low-carbon transport, low-carbon

manufacturing, sustainable agriculture,

biodiversity restoration and the protection of

natural ecosystems.

4. As a result of the implementation of the Green

New Deal programs, the economy will change

dramatically, new industries and new business

models will appear, and the link between

economic growth, on the one hand, and

resource consumption, environmental

pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions, on the

other hand, will be destroyed.

5. In implementing the New Economic Policy, the

inclusiveness of new economic development

measures, reducing social injustice and

ensuring a just transition will play a particularly

important role.

The main official documents of Russia that relate

to decarbonization currently include (Murtazova,

2021; Gakaev, 2018):

− The Climate Doctrine of the Russian

Federation of 2009;

− a system of national projects approved by

Decree of the President of the Russian

Federation of May 7, 2018 No. 204 "On the

national goals and strategic objectives of the

development of the Russian Federation for the

period up to 2024" and adjusted by Decree of

the President of the Russian Federation of July

21, 2020 No. 474 "On the national goals of the

development of the Russian Federation for the

period up to 2030”;

− Energy Strategy of the Russian Federation for

the period up to 2035 (hereinafter referred to as

Energy Strategy-2035);

− the state program “Energy Development”

(formerly the state program “Energy Efficiency

and Energy Development”);

− A comprehensive plan to improve the energy

efficiency of the Russian economy;

− Draft Strategy for the Long-term Development

of Russia with Low Greenhouse Gas Emissions

until 2050 (hereinafter referred to as the Draft

Low-Carbon Strategy until 2050);

− Decree of the President of the Russian

Federation of November 4, 2020 No. 666 "On

the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions";

− Draft federal law “On State Regulation of

Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Amendments

to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian

Federation”

Also related to the reduction of greenhouse gas

emissions are the list of instructions of the President

of the Russian Federation following the meeting of

the State Council on the issue "On the environmental

development of the Russian Federation in the

interests of future generations", held on December 27,

2016, the program for the development of the Russian

coal industry for the period up to 2035, approved in

October 2020 The Action Plan (“road map”) for the

development of hydrogen energy in Russia until

2024, adopted in October 2020, the Strategy for the

Development of the Arctic Zone of Russia and

Ensuring National Security until 2035. The climate

MMTGE 2022 - I International Conference "Methods, models, technologies for sustainable development: agroclimatic projects and carbon

neutrality", Kadyrov Chechen State University Chechen Republic, Grozny, st. Sher

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doctrine is the basis for the formation and

implementation of Russia's climate policy. The

document acknowledges that climate change and

especially its acceleration are the most important

problems of the 21st century, and a significant part of

the territory of Russia is in the area of maximum

climate change. The doctrine provides for the

concentration of Russia's efforts on reducing

anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and

increasing their absorption by sinks and reservoirs.

To do this, it is planned to improve energy efficiency,

introduce renewable energy sources, implement

financial and tax policy measures that stimulate the

reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as

protect and improve the quality of greenhouse gas

sinks and accumulators, including rational forestry.

However, the other documents listed above are

conservative, differ in their focus on maintaining

Russia’s position in the global markets for natural

resources and, in particular, fossil fuels, and

contradict both the key modern global development

documents — the Paris Climate Agreement and the

2030 Agenda — and the Russian Climate Doctrine.

Thus, the Energy Strategy-2035 assumes that by 2035

oil production will remain at the same level or

decrease by 12%, gas production will increase by 18-

38%, coal production will increase by 10-52%.

Renewable energy sources, except for hydropower,

are practically not given attention in the strategy, the

only task in the field of renewable energy sources,

excluding hydropower plants, is to improve the

efficiency of energy supply to remote and isolated

territories. Too much attention has been paid to

hydropower, despite the fact that in the world this

renewable energy source is not promising either for

environmental or economic reasons. The Energy

Strategy-2035 provides for the development of

hydrogen energy, but it is planned to be carried out

through the "production of hydrogen from natural

gas, including using renewable energy sources,

nuclear energy." At the same time, the production of

hydrogen based on fossil fuels and at the expense of

nuclear energy does not make sense, since in the near

future the world will demand green hydrogen

produced from renewable energy sources (Reynard,

2020).

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