*[Enwl-eng] Newsletter in English from CAN EECCA
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Tue Dec 20 19:01:31 MSK 2022
Dear CAN EECCA members and friends, from October 2022 we are releasing a
newsletter in English every second week. Please don't hesitate to subscribe
to our news digest in English.
Sincerely
Baktygul Chynybaeva
--
Communication Manager
CAN EECCA
https://caneecca.org/
+996550532555
@ChynybaevaB
Climate Action Network
Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia
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Climate chronicle of the war
To Activate Hope, Activate Capital
The atmosphere at the end of last month’s United Nations
Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt was rather sobering. Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine has forced countries to turn to thermal coal and other
fossil fuels to meet their energy needs, likely postponing the transition to
a net-zero economy. But COP27 also underscored the need to leverage public
policy, regulation, and technological innovation to achieve a climate-secure
future. By now, it has become abundantly clear that supporting
climate-related projects around the world at the necessary scale will
require vast amounts of capital.
How the Russia-Ukraine war accelerated a global energy
crisis
For the energy industry, 2022 will be remembered as the
year Russia's invasion of Ukraine accelerated a global energy crisis. The
invasion, and subsequent Western sanctions, heaped new pressures on oil and
gas supplies already strained from the rapid economic rebound from the
pandemic. The world's top energy companies beat a hasty retreat from Russia
and wrote off tens of billions of dollars in assets. European nations
scrambled to make sure they could keep the lights on and their residents
from freezing to death.
The Role of Decarbonisation In Shaping the Russian
Invasion of Ukraine
While the actual motivation behind Russian invasion of
Ukraine is still being debated, the global responses to climate change and
the natural resources in Ukraine might act as the underlying factors that
reinforce the decision-making of the Russian officials. The ongoing trend of
decarbonisation and electrification of the energy and transportation sector
will decrease the importance of fossil fuels in Europe and the world,
weakening Russian economic and political power globally in the long term.
The decline in resource rent would have significant implications for Russia,
such as growing economic, social, and national insecurity. Additionally,
these implications will result in a fundamental shift in the balance of
power in Eurasia that will diminish Russia’s global influence.
Ukraine war will make renewables top electricity source:
IEA
Russian fossil fuel bans are propelling the world towards
solar, wind and other renewable energy sources faster than predicted, says a
new report. The world will build 2,400 gigawatts (GW) of new generating
capacity mainly from solar and wind energy in the next five years, equal to
China’s entire current generating capacity, the IEA said in a new forecast.
That is a level of investment 30 percent higher than was predicted a year
ago. That rate of increase will make renewables the world’s biggest source
of electricity by 2025, toppling coal, said the IEA.
Germany amidst Russia-Ukraine conflict: The Dilemma of
Energy, Environment and Politics
As a matter of course, political correctness does not
allow Germany to continue importing gas from Russia at the same amount as
before. The government has become the center of criticism by both the above
and below, which are the international system and its own residents, for
still highly relying on Russian gas. Nevertheless, the energy tie between
the two countries has been knotted for a long course of history by a massive
amount of material investment and diplomatic deals. Besides, the problem
with natural gas is that it is very difficult to be shipped from one country
to another without specialized pipelines that require time and money to
construct, and suppliers with proper geographic locations.
Qatar Extends Its Natural Gas Dominance at Russia’s
Expense
As its influence grows, the country is poised to become a
big energy supplier to Europe, which has turned away from Russia after its
invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s war in Ukraine has jolted global energy
markets, leaving Europe short of natural gas, raising prices for all fossil
fuels and threatening a global recession. But one country has maneuvered
effectively to gain economic and political advantage from the turmoil:
Qatar. Long a big exporter of liquefied natural gas to Asian countries,
Qatar is poised to become a critical energy source for Europe, which is
pivoting away from its dependence on Russia.
Global coal use set to reach fresh record
As the world has grappled with the energy shocks triggered
by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, concerns over energy security have forced
countries that had once pledged to quit coal to burn more of it instead. In
Europe, coal consumption will rise in 2022 for the second year in a row as
the reduction in gas supplies from Russia and corresponding high gas prices
have made power generators rely more on coal for heat and power. The rise in
global coal use comes in spite of record prices for thermal coal, the kind
burnt in power stations, which hit highs in March and June.
Despite Russia's winter challenge, Europe hasn't snapped
yet
Ten months on and the Ukraine war is distorting life in
Europe in new ways every week. At one end of the continent, the sight of
tankers queuing at the Bosphorus demonstrated that the Black Sea oil trade
has been disrupted. At the other end, the French are asking the British to
reduce the draw of electricity through the sub-sea interconnector so that
both sides can manage peak daily demand in a cold snap. If Russian President
Vladimir Putin is gambling that the European public will turn against their
politicians’ united front on Ukraine, then the sub-zero temperatures
represent his best chance to achieve that goal.
Regional and world news
The “Winterstans”: Energy Crisis in Central Asia
On January 25, 2022, parts of the territories of
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan experienced a massive blackout. The
three countries are united by one power grid inherited from the Soviet
Union — the Unified Energy System of Central Asia. 11 months later, the
first days of December also brought an energy crisis to two largest
countries in Central Asia: Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Several cities of
Kazakhstan suffered accidents in thermal power plants at the beginning of
the new heating season. An especially large one happened in the city of
Ekibastuz, in the north of the country.
Tajikistan: Families freeze while energy independence
chimera remains ever distant
Tajikistan first began to experience these chronic
difficulties in the early 2000s, when Uzbekistan suspended deliveries of
natural gas. Shortage of that fuel meant power generators were unable to
work at full capacity in winter. Many a time since then, Rahmon has assured
the public that Tajikistan is on the cusp of achieving “energy
independence.” He promised in 2016 that the day would come “within three
years.” In 2009, he vowed energy independence would be attained “within four
years.”
The climate crisis and the environment in Central Asia —
Is there hope?
The states of Central Asia — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan — are facing severe environmental
challenges, which are being further exacerbated by climate change. These
issues are complex, intertwined, and often rooted in the countries’ common
Soviet legacy. The list of issues includes how to battle Central Asia’s
climate crisis and its inherited ecological disasters: intense air
pollution, deforestation, nuclear contamination and the ecological disaster
that is the disappearing Aral Sea. According to data from the Swiss air
quality technology company IQAir, Central Asian cities rank among the worst
in the world in terms of air pollution.
Armenia steps up adaptation to the climate crisis
Armenia, a mountainous, landlocked country in the South
Caucasus, is one of the most vulnerable countries in Europe and Central Asia
to climate change. The nation’s average temperature has risen by more than
1.2°C since 1929, and changing climatic patterns have caused the degradation
of important landscapes, including watersheds and wetlands. In the face of
those challenges, Armenia has launched an ambitious effort to adapt to
climate change and cut domestic greenhouse gas emissions, which fuel the
climate crisis.
Can Central Asian Cities Resolve Their Big, Ugly Smog
Problems?
Coal-powered plants and the stoves of residential homes in
Central Asia's largest cities are pumping toxins into the sky, icy roads are
thick with slow moving, aging vehicles, and social media chatter is full of
talk about how bad the air is and where to buy the best air purifier. Air
pollution, and especially dirty winter air, has long been a problem in the
region, but it is now beginning to resemble a catastrophe. The political
will to combat air pollution has traditionally been weak, but with public
awareness of the problem growing and the health effects telling, can
governments continue to ignore the obvious?
EBRD supports 1GW of renewable energy generation in
Uzbekistan
The Bank has arranged two syndicated loans worth US$ 520
million to help construct and put into operation two wind power plants with
a total installed capacity of 1GW in the Bukhara region. The financing is
the EBRD’s largest renewable energy project to date across its regions. The
Bank’s loan of US$ 277 million to Bash Wind Power Plant (WPP) will consist
of an A loan of US$ 150 million on the EBRD’s own account and a B loan of
US$ 127 million, which will be syndicated to commercial lenders. The new
wind power plant will generate more than 1,650 GWh of electricity annually
and help reduce annual CO2 emissions by 930,000 tonnes.
Georgia, Azerbaijan, Hungary, Romania Sign Agreement on
Black Sea Electricity Cable
On 17 December, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili,
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban,
and Romanian Prime Minister Romania Nicolae Ciucă signed the agreement for
the development of the 1,100-kilometer-long Black Sea strategic submarine
electricity cable aimed at transporting energy from Azerbaijan to the
European Union through Georgia. The agreement followed the Plenary Session
on Strategic Partnership Agreement for Green Energy Development and
Transmission held in Bucharest, Romania.
EU Invests Billions in Asia’s Green Future
The EU’s €10 bn investment in ASEAN member states will
help accelerate their green transition, but as the Ukraine war and
competition with China exposes vulnerabilities within both unions, their
strategic partnership’s motivations are almost certainly more intricate in
nature. One of the agreements promised by the EU was a “Global Gateway”
investment package of €10 billion to ASEAN nations, intending to help member
states to advance their green economies and infrastructure whilst staying on
track to reach ambitious climate neutrality targets. “Because our energy and
trade cooperation will only reach its full potential if it is underpinned by
the right infrastructure,” said President von der Leyen.
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From: Baktygul Chynybaeva
Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2022 3:21 PM
Subject: Newsletter in English from CAN EECCA
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