Report - UNDP Russia

Concept for Long-term Socio-economicDevelopment of the Russian Federation up to2020 sets the following targets for this aspectof human development:• fivefold reduction of the number of citieswith high and very high levels of pollution;• fourfold reduction of the number of peopleliving in unfavorable environmentalconditions.The area of territories in Russia, which areprotected in order to maintain biodiversity(Indicator No.2), also depends to a significantextent on the energy industry and itsinfrastructure. At present the majority ofprotected areas are in northern and easternregions of the country where there are also hugedeposits of energy resources, development ofwhich will involve large-scale infrastructurecreation: oil & gas pipelines, electricitytransmission lines, railways and roads, etc.Development of the energy industry in theseregions may therefore have negative impact onprotected territories, biodiversity, forests andwetlands. Extensive development of the energyindustry in north-eastern regions couldundermine the role of Russia as a globalenvironmental donor, diminishing the potentialrole of its ecosystems for humanity. A goodexample of a positive approach to solving suchproblems is the government’s decision to movethe route of a planned trunk pipeline away fromLake Baikal, which has unique environmentalimportance. Initial plans would have run thepipeline along the Lake shore.The energy factor plays an important forachievement of MDG 7 tasks to provide puredrinking water and improve housing conditions(Indicators No. 6, 7, 8), which are highly importantfor human potential development. Provision ofpure water, decent housing and sewerage willrequire considerable energy consumption in thehousing utility sector.The energy factor is well reflected in thesystem of indicators developed by the WorldBank, which are published annually in theBank’s ‘Indicators of Global Development’ 6 Andinclude six main energy indexes (Table 8.3.) Themacro ratio to GDP used by the World Bank isnot energy intensity, but the index of energyefficiency, which shows the oppositerelationship. The system also has threestructural indicators, connected with biomass,fuel combustion, and hydro-electricity. Russiaproduces almost 30% less GDP per unit ofconsumed energy than East European orCentral Asian countries and 2.3 times lesscompared with countries that have higherincome levels. The share of energy producedfrom biomass and waste is 2-3 times less inRussia than in the latter countries. Per capitaelectric power consumption is much higher inRussia than in East European and Central Asiancountries (by more than a third), but muchlower than the same index for rich countries (by1.7 times). The share of electricity producedfrom fossil fuels is approximately the same:about two thirds of total production.Constructive approaches todevelopment of energy indicators have beenproposed by the UN Economic Commission forEurope (ECE UN), including a special study for thetransition economies of Eastern Europe, theCaucasus and Central Asia 7 . The approach isbased on differentiation of indicators, using asystem of ‘driving force – pressure – state –impact – reaction’. ECE UN suggested four basicenergy indicators: 1) final energy consumption(overall and by final consumers); 2) total energyconsumption (overall and by major fuel types); 3)energy intensity; and 4) energy consumptionusing renewable sources. The first and secondindicators relate to driving forces, and the thirdand the fourth to reactions.Rates of GHG emissions are associatedwith energy indicators. For example, the WorldBank considers CO 2 emissions per GDP unit andper capita, and growth of these indicators since1990.6World Development Indicators 2008. World Bank, Washington DC, 20087Environmental rates and estimative reports based on them. Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia. UNECE, New York, Geneva, 2007.148National Human Development Report in the Russian Federation 2009