Putin calls for taking into account emergence of new energy markets

MOSCOW, October 4. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin called for taking into account the forthcoming formation of new energy markets, in particular in the Asian Pacific region, as well as aggravation of inter-fuel competition. Speaking at the plenary session of the Russian Energy Week forum, Putin noted that according to statistics, up to 2 billion people on the planet still do not have full access to energy sources. "No doubt that this situation will be changing in the coming decade, which will lead to the formation of new markets, the geography and structure of energy demand will primarily shift to the countries of the Asia-Pacific region," he said. Putin noted the majority of industry experts agree "that hydrocarbons will play the leading role in it in the next 20-25 years, especially when a number of countries voluntarily limit the development of nuclear power generation." At the same time, according to him, "we should expect an increase in inter-fuel competition, first of all, traditional and new sources of energy." He added that according to experts' estimates, in the next 20 years, humanity will need 30 percent more energy than today, which is attributed to development of the world economy, population growth on the planet, improvement of quality of life and consumption, especially in developing countries. The head of the Russian state also drew attention to the fact that today almost all countries have taken a course on the development of "clean" energy, including renewable sources, which already account for more than half of all generation capacities in the world. "By 2035, their share in the world energy balance should grow from 15 to 23 percent, and in generation of electricity, but excluding hydroelectric power - from the current 7 to 20 percent," Putin added. But the development of traditional energy sources will continue, he said. "Improving exploration and production technologies makes hard-to-recover oil and gas reserves more accessible, including the energy potential of the Arctic," Putin said. Read more