Post-COVID-19 Revitalisation and Prospects for Climate Neutral Energy Security Technologies

Abstract

Dealing with the effects of COVID-19 is on the energy security agenda. Consolidation of efforts at the regional, national and international levels to exchange experience in the implementation of successful practices and the formation of institutional support of the sustainable energy development contributes to the post-COVID-19 revitalisation. With this in mind, the article is devoted to studying the peculiarities and experience of the post-COVID-19 revitalisation of the energy sector in different countries and determining the development prospects of climate-neutral technologies in the energy security sphere. A change in the behaviour of energy consumers by the secondary energy source in the context of increased quarantine restrictions has been established. In particular, a downward trend in the volume of energy consumption from traditional sources (oil, coal, etc.) has been traced. At the same time, the demand for energy consumption from renewable sources (solar energy, wind energy, etc.) has grown, which made it possible to diagnose the reduction in CO2 emissions. Based on the analysis of measures to reduce the negative impact of the COVID-19 on energy security in different countries, the integration of the foundations of climate neutrality through the development of new critical technologies in the field of renewable energy sources has been established. As a result of a survey of green energy stakeholders using PEST analysis, it was proved that the complexity of integrating the principles of climate neutrality into the energy sector is that the result is not an economic effect but primarily an environmental effect (energy decarbonization). As a result, a methodology for determining the sustainability indicators for developing climate-neutral technologies in energy security using fuzzy set methods is proposed. The prospect of developing climate-neutral technologies in energy security lies in the transition to cross-sectoral interaction based on a closed cycle of energy consumption from renewable sources and the use of Industry 4.0 technologies. The proposed methodology will be a tool for further research on the developing organizational and innovative support and justifying the economic feasibility of introducing climate-neutral technologies based on the clustering of industries and a circular economy in the energy security sphere.