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Snapshot
Advancing Energy Efficiency in Russia
By: Mark IzemanFor: The Sallan FoundationDate: November 3, 2009
 
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© 2009 The Sallan Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved.http://www.sallan.org
 
 
Snapshot
Advancing Energy Efficiency in Russia
According to an old Russian proverb, “Free cheese is found only in mousetraps.”When it comes to money gained through energy efficiency, as Sallan’s regular readers know, thisisn’t true.Investing in energy efficiency projects can create new money. A 2008 study by the respectedMcKinsey Global Institute concluded that at least one half of projected worldwide energydemand growth over the next twelve years could be met through increased energy efficiency inall sectors of the economy — and this can be accomplished by employing existing technologiesthat generate significant rates of return on investments. By more than paying for themselves,these energy efficiency technologies will generate capital that can be spent elsewhere.And implementing energy efficiency programs can in effect create new supplies of energy, whichis also the quickest and most efficient way to reduce emissions of global warming pollution.Stated simply, $100 spent on energy efficiency can free up more energy than $100 spent onexpanded oil and gas production.Based on these hard facts, one would think that energy efficiency would have broad appeal inRussia, and that the United States and other nations would have a strong interest in advancingenergy efficiency measures in that country.After all, Russia is the world’s largest country by territory and the #1 global exporter of energy(#1 in natural gas, #2 in oil). Worldwide, it is also the #3 emitter of greenhouse gas pollutantsfrom fossil fuels, and will stay among the top emitters at least through 2030. Russia is also one of the most energy wasteful countries in the world; its energy intensity is roughly twice the globaland US average.In fact, Russia’s annual losses in energy equal the primary energy consumption of France!
 
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© 2009 The Sallan Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved.http://www.sallan.org
 
 
Snapshot
Advancing Energy Efficiency in Russia
I was fortunate to have had the opportunity over the past three years to work in Moscow onenergy efficiency and climate change issues, and to learn firsthand whether in fact energyefficiency is taking hold in Russia. (In early 2006, I moved with my family to Moscow, where mywife was born and had an exciting work opportunity. We returned to New York this pastsummer.)The good news is that over the past several years, Russian leaders have strongly supportedexpanding energy efficiency laws and programs in Russia. Two years ago, for instance, PrimeMinister Vladmir Putin declared that making Russia more competitive in the world economyrequired “action to make our energy consumption radically more efficient.” And last year,President Dimitry Medvedev took this call for action further by signing a decree directing topofficials to draft new energy efficiency laws, and setting a goal of slashing the country’s energywastefulness by 40% by 2020.The bad news, as President Medvedev acknowledged early this fall, is that only very modest progress has been made in advancing concrete, on-the-ground energy efficiency projects,including public education campaigns.But given the Kremlin’s strong backing of energy efficiency, it is likely in the coming monthsand years that Russia will begin to make slow progress in this area. And the energy efficiencyexperiences there — both good and bad — can help advocates better focus their strategies for  building sustainable cities and communities.Here are four lessons that I took away from my time in Moscow.First: it is important to have a single government entity in charge of advancing energy efficiency.In the US, we have seen how critical it is to have one agency overseeing specific local, state or federal environmental programs. Unfortunately, in Russia, energy efficiency responsibilities arescattered throughout the federal government and this is one major reason things are still stuck infirst gear there. In Russia, the best approach is to have one strong federal agency responsible for 
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