Furgalsky, director of consolidated government policy and digital transformation at the ministry, was addressing the Duma’s Ecology and Environment Protection Committee on Tuesday, during discussion of a bill on the introduction of “green certificates” to prove compliance with tougher carbon emissions regulations.

    Deputy Energy Minister Anastasia Bondarenko, quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency, said bill could be adopted into law by the Duma this autumn.

    The bill is de facto a response to plans by the European Union to introduce a carbon import levy to be charged in relation to the carbon content of imported goods – part of its “green deal” to reduce emissions.

    Russian exporters will have to confirm whether energy used in production came from low-carbon sources. And the ministry is proposing that “green” certificates be issued not only for wind and solar power use but also for hydroelectric and nuclear power.

    “This will help export-oriented producers achieve level competitive conditions on international markets. Not only will it prevent a decline in export volumes, it will boost them,” Bondarenko told Tass.

     In 2019, before the advent of the Covid crisis, hydro power accounted for 17.4 % of electricity generation in Russia, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy, and the share of nuclear power totalled 18.7 %. The power generation balance was dominated by gas (46.5 %) and coal (16.3 %). Renewable energy sources were marginalised (0.4 %) – behind even generation based on products from oil refining and various fossil fuels (0.9 %).

    In any event, the competitiveness of Russian exporters will depend to a great extent on whether the EU categorises hydro power and nuclear power as low-carbon sources.