Green Energy Transition of the Russian Industry: Barriers and Ways to Overcome Them

Abstract

The global climate action agenda is inextricably linked to the processes of the green energy transition. The latter is now considered as a top priority by many national governments, Russia being no exception. The declared goal of the green energy transition — the reduction of the anthropogenic impact on the environment — in practice may be used by some stakeholders as a tool to gain competitive advantage, which entails certain risks for countries with developing economies. The real tasks of the green energy transition are determined by the actual and projected global needs and the growing global energy deficit. The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical perspective on the barriers to the green energy transition in the Russian industry and to outline possible ways of overcoming them. The study relies on the methods of statistical, comparative and causal analysis. The concept ‘green energy transition’ is clarified and its connection to the concept of sustainable development is examined. It is shown that the constraints to the green energy transition in Russia are associated with national interests and in particular the need to ensure the country’s industrial sovereignty. These findings can be useful to policy-makers working on energy transition programs and policies.