Novak called the consequences of the global energy crisis for countries

MOSCOW, 10 Oct — PRIME. The global energy crisis is prompting countries to reconsider their energy policy, the community continues to view coal as a reliable source of energy, said Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.

“The world community, despite political slogans, continues to view coal as a reliable and affordable source of energy, the hasty rejection of which can lead and already leads to unpredictable consequences for the global economy,” Novak wrote in his author’s article in the Energy Policy magazine.

The global energy crisis, which has been ongoing since the end of 2020, is having an unprecedented impact on the global economy, prompting the world community to reconsider its energy policy and significantly reduce the pace of diversification of energy sources, the Deputy Prime Minister believes.

In his article, Novak recalled that in recent months, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Austria have already announced their plans to use coal-fired power plants to compensate for the gas shortage. Coal plants, which should be closed from 2022, will continue to operate in the Czech Republic. In Poland, they have allowed the use of lower quality coal and are calling on the EU to reconsider the pace of the energy transition.

Previously adopted plans to phase out coal generation are also being adjusted by South Korea, while India expects to increase coal production by 75-100 million tons in the next 2-3 years by restarting previously closed mines. China at the same time reduced to zero duties on coal imports, which previously reached 6%.

At the same time, Novak also stressed, the pace of development of alternative energy began to decline, which is due both to economic reasons and to the relatively low reliability of these energy resources, which largely depend on unstable weather conditions.

“Coal remains the main fuel for the production of electricity in the world – in 2021 it accounted for 36% of all generation. Thus, this fossil maintains a stable position and is of high importance in the global energy market,” the Deputy Prime Minister believes.