NOVO-OGARYOVO, October 31. /TASS/. Russia is among global de-carbonization leaders in expert estimates and the low-carbon energy sector is developing in the country at a good pace, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a G20 summit via a videoconference on Sunday.

"In the estimate of international experts, Russia is among global de-carbonization leaders. Over the past 20 years, our economy’s carbon intensity has been falling by an average of 2.7% annually, which is higher than in the world as a whole and even higher than in the G7 countries," the Russian leader pointed out.

As Putin said, today in Russia "the share of energy from practically carbon-free sources and, as we know, these are nuclear power plants, hydropower plants, wind and solar electric power plants, exceeds 40% and this figure rises to 86%, taking into account natural gas, the lowest carbon-content fuel among hydrocarbons." This is one of the best indicators in the world, the Russian leader stressed.

Recently, the Russian authorities have made a decision to implement a new program of raising the economy’s energy efficiency for a period through 2035, which will be a key element for the country to become carbon-neutral no later than 2060, Putin said.

"And we have publicly stated that we are undertaking this commitment. Moreover, we do not simply want to become carbon neutral but want to ensure that in the next three decades the accumulated amount of net greenhouse gas emissions in Russia is less than, for example, in our neighbors and colleagues in the European Union. And this is a task that we can quote cope with," the Russian leader said.

Russia also expects "to build long-term plans with all partners, implement them as priorities in the energy sector on the principles of technological neutrality, objectively taking into account the carbon footprint of various types of power generation," he pointed out.

"Let me mention, in particular, that the solar energy carbon footprint is four times higher than in nuclear power engineering, according to scientific data," the Russian president said.