MOSCOW, October 15. /TASS/. Transitioning to carbon neutrality is a major challenge, but at the same time it opens up great opportunities for Russia, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Friday.
"More than 60 countries have already announced their intention to move to carbon neutrality, this will inevitably lead to a change in the structure of energy consumption in the next three decades - around 25 years," Mishustin said. "This state of affairs is a serious challenge, but at the same time, there are great opportunities for our country. This is a chance to use breakthrough technologies in the backbone sectors of the economy, to form new growth points, high-tech jobs, and additional competitive advantages in the context of the global energy transition," he added.
According to him, developing hydrogen energy is a promising direction. Mishustin noted that hydrogen can be obtained from various sources and can be used in many sectors of the economy: industry, energy, transport. "Russia possesses large reserves of hydrocarbon resources, especially natural gas, as well as potential in nuclear energy and renewable energy sources. Of course, it is important to use these advantages at the initial stage of developing our own technological competencies in the field of hydrogen energy," he said.
He recalled that a few days ago, within the framework of the Russian Energy Week, the Russian government and Gazprom signed an agreement on developing hydrogen energy and the decarbonizing industry and transport based on natural gas. "Of course, the development of this industry will require attracting additional resources - both financial and intellectual," Mishustin added.
"Our country has a serious scientific base, expanding which will allow carrying out fundamental and applied research to develop technologies for obtaining pure and affordable hydrogen, and in the future, the cost of its production, of course, will become much lower," he said.
He also recalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in the Russian Energy Week plenary session on October 13 and discussed the international climate agenda in detail with experts and companies. "The head of state emphasized the importance of achieving a balance in the energy market to ensure global energy and environmental security and paid special attention to the need to learn a lesson from the current situation in the European market," Mishustin added.