BANGKOK, October 20. /TASS/. Countries in the Asia-Pacific region are willing to apply Russia’s experience in energy transition, Russian Deputy Energy Minister Sergey Mochalnikov said in an interview with TASS.
He was speaking after the 3rd Asia-Pacific Energy Forum, held under the auspices of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Bangkok.
"Almost all the countries whose representatives we spoke with at the forum are interested in adopting Russian experience in energy transition," he said.
He noted that the Asia-Pacific region is full of islands and distributed power generation is relevant for it. That is why it is necessary to ensure energy supply and distribute power grid facilities in the region.
"Asia-Pacific countries have their own gas production, but they mainly export it without consuming it on their domestic market. Gas consumption, development of gas supply infrastructure of their regions, all technical and energy projects are also on the agenda," he added.
Another interesting area of development is resource management, the Deputy Energy Minister.
"To carry out the energy transition, we need to know how many critical resources the countries, the ESCAP association as a whole, have on the planet, what technologies are available. The size of the step and the speed of the energy transition will depend on the availability of a resource that is economically justified and in demand. This is a very important topic, which was also discussed at the forum," Mochalnikov noted.
Commenting on implementation of Global Goal 7 in the field of sustainable development set by the UN General Assembly, the Deputy Energy Minister said: "Russia always adheres to the principles that the goal is common but each country has individual ways to achieve it. Countries have a whole set of specific characteristics, such as energy reserves, geoclimatic and socio-economic features, financial resources. Each country must build its own model that will contribute to achieving goals on the difficult path to the energy transition while maintaining socio-economic stability and systematic economic development. Achieving sustainable development goals implies ensuring affordable, reliable and inexpensive energy resource. In some cases, it is necessary to overcome energy poverty first and then address the energy transition."
17 global goals
The Sustainable Development Goals for the period up to 2030 were developed by the UN General Assembly and adopted by all member states of the organization in 2015. It is a plan of 17 interconnected global goals aimed at improving well-being and protecting our planet. The list includes goals of an economic, social and environmental nature.
The 3rd Asia-Pacific Energy Forum was held as part of the Asia-Pacific Energy Week at the ESCAP headquarters in Bangkok. The Russian delegation was represented by more than 40 participants, including representatives of companies in the fuel and energy sector.