Mr. General Secretary, Ministers, Mr. Commissioner, Representatives of Delegations, ladies and gentlemen!

It’s a great honor for me to welcome you to this unique ministerial conference here in Paris, the city of light.

There are several important and urgent issues that require our consideration. Energy is the source of life on earth. Energy security is becoming a deciding factor for the future of the planet. The development of new energy technologies is a condition of economic growth and sustainable development, and is certainly a component of the global energy strategy.

Today global energy safety and energy efficiency issues have become one of the most vital and acute. That is why Russia consecutively submits them to be discussed at such  representative international forums as G-8 countries leaders meeting. We believe that energy development is a global process. We are convinced that all the states participating in this process should not limit themselves by economic themes only. It is necessary to take into account humanitarian values which are being defended and promoted by UNESCO as well. The value of dialog which is completely shared by us is among them.

Dialog in this area is a matter of critical importance. Currently, all countries approach each other with a higher level of requirements on energy meanwhile forgetting the principles which the partnership should be build upon. First of all, it is necessary to discuss and endorse these principles and operate based on them not fearing each other.  For example, in a framework of the natural gas exporting countries Forum in Doha this year we used this very approach which means we have started to discuss principles of operating on a natural gas global market.

This very approach is used by us for the energy policy of the Russia  realization.  Russian energy industry is developing to comply with the principles specified in Energy strategy for our country. This document is open to public and the principles included in it are in compliance with the world practices.  They are in compliance with the statements identified in a Declaration issued last year by a “Group of eight” on energy safety. This is safety of demand and supply as well, diversification of supply and markets, market  transparency, risks separation, refuse to politicize and to militarize the global energy, market principles priority etc.  

In compliance with these principles, Russia diversifies its transportation infrastructure while implementing such projects as VSTO, SEG, Burgas-Alexandrupolis, BTS-2 and others. The Russian Federation is improving its investment and Tax legislative framework in the energy sphere making it more transparent.

The Russian Federation is implementing the new legislature and new institutions in the sphere of the energy efficiency. The Russian Federation diversify its energy balance. The Russian Federation is developing the  long-term instruments for international cooperation based on assets exchange. And the most important thing the Russian Federation is actively developing the international dialog including humanitarian aspects of the modern energy discussions.

The tasks we are facing are much broader than simply Russian or European. They are of the global scale. This in particular is why we are here today in this hall. It is in this composition that we begin to discuss the most acute issues of sustainable energy development.

Let me identify the three main problems which we should solve together.

The first problem is energy poverty.

Today we are witnessing a tremendous gap between those who have energy and those who have not. Luxembourg with its population of a little less than a million consumes as much electricity and Ghana (with the population of 22 million) or Kenya (with the population of 35 million). The USA consume about one fourth of the world amount of the supplied electricity  and oil; China follows closely behind. 

African economy is behind in development because of lack of energy resources, which:

-        Hinders the growth of industry and trade;

-        Doesn’t allow people to use the advantages of information technologies;

-        Hinders the development of ideas and culture;

-        Prevents the spread of knowledge and technologies.

These are the matters of vital importance that UNESCO has been working on actively.

Allow me to cite some examples:

-        In the whole world 1.6 billion of people don’t have access to electrical network. 535 million of them live in Africa.

-        In the rural Africa to the South of Sahara 9 out of 10 people don’t have access to electricity.

-        Africa is rich in natural energy resources – oil, coal, gas as well as water and sun, but still in the rural parts up to 95% of energy consuming is based on ineffective and harmful wood burning and the so-called elementary biofuel.

-        More than 1.6 million of people in the whole world, first of all, women and children die every year from the diseases of respiratory organs caused by the wood burning for cooking and warming.

Africa has been named one of the priorities of Germany’s chairmanship of the G-8. But the development of the continent is impossible without the solving of the energy poverty problem.  For many of those living on this continent the issue of access to energy – is the life and death issue without exaggeration.

The second problem is the development of the new and ecologically soft energy technologies.

The access to energy presupposes the access to energy technologies. In the past twenty years humanity should actualize some major science and technological break-throughs for the sake of providing pure, harmless and renewable energy sources – such as hydrogen energy, atomic energy, solar energy, biological fuel and pure coal technologies.

Fundamental science plays the central role in this process, That is why we welcome the programs that are carried out with the support of UNESCO. Specifically Russia considers the projects connected with the study of the ocean imperative. This research is relevant for our country, because the complex whole scale reclaiming potential of the sea shelf is one of the priorities of Russian Energy strategy. Naturally, the realization of the shelf plans demands overcare for protection of the unique biosphere of the Arctic and Far Eastern seas.

Russia has disposal of phenomenal energy resources. We hold first place in the world in oil and gas production.  But ecological and energy effectiveness of the infrastructure we inherited from the Soviet Union times –let us be honest- is dissatisfactory. We are considerably far behind the UN, USA and Japan in these factors. But we are leading a consistent policy to raise the energy effectiveness and our goal is to lessen the energy-output ratio by half by the year 2020 as compared to the year 2000.

Today’s Russia is developing effective energy as part of international ecological standards and the strictest environmental protection requirements. For example, in the candidate city for the holding of the Winter Olympics in 2014, 36 projects will be implemented that are related to power generation and delivery. In total, there are plans to invest 2 billion dollars.

Today, a number of initiatives are already underway in the area of environmental protection. They include such projects as “Zero balance of waste accumulation” and “Zero balance of greenhouse gas emissions.” I will say more. The program supposes the use of renewable energy sources, and there are plans to convert Sochi’s bus service to environmentally-friendly hydrogen.

This is vivid testimony that Russia is not developing by means of the extractive industries and the export of raw materials. By means of the educational, science, creative potential our country possesses the advantages for creation of a competitive economy based on intellect and knowledge, the economy where it is the ideas, inventions and the ability to implement them into everyday life that is the main force and not the rate of the development of natural resources.

All the desired break-throughs in the area of energy cannot be provided by one country only. That is why we cannot allow the energy to become the reason for wars. It should be the source of cooperation. UNESCO plays a unique role in providing such a progress. The organization can get together the scientists, engineers and experts in the area of energy from all over the world, uniting our knowledge and know-how. I am sure that UNESCO’s attention to the problems of sustainable energy development is a clear confirmation of the organization’s competence as a global intellectual center.

Russia supports and develops various forms of interaction of energy with the fundamental science.  In particular in 2006 we held the first international energy week that was held with the active participation of the Russian Academy of science. The issues of implementation of the leading achievements of the world fundamental and applied science for solving the problems of raising effectiveness will take the central place in the framework of the second international energy week, that will be held in Moscow October, 23-26 of this year.

At Russia’s initiative the award “Global energy” was established, that is conferred for the outstanding science achievements in the area of energy. In 2007 this award was given to Dr. Sigfusson for the project “Research and practice in implementation of hydrogen energy in Iceland”.

I am sure that the UNESCO potential, especially in the area of fundamental science and education, and the potential of Russia in the area of energy can amd should be complementary. That is why we initiated establishing in Moscow under the aegis of UNESCO of the Center of stable energy development , that should become an important source of expert evaluation and prognosis in the area of world energy

This leads me to the third problem : the advancement of energy knowledge.

It is important not only to develop the new energy technologies, but also to spread and implement them in practice in the whole world. New technologies should be used everywhere in the whole world: in holes, offices, cities and villages and especially in developing countries. 

In the interests of future generations, we must work on the development of alternative and renewable energy sources. We must encourage a cautious attitude towards energy, implement the appropriate educational programs and standards, form a new and responsible attitude towards energy on the micro level, i.e., at the level of individual users of energy resources. Energy projects must take into consideration the imperative to preserve natural wealth and diversity, foresee respect for the cultures of native and non-numerous peoples, and orient ourselves towards fair distribution of world energy resources in order to reduce energy poverty.

During last year's summit of the Group of Eight in St. Petersburg we laid the foundation for such an approach. It is important that this initiative should be continued. The countries of the G-8 should form the world system of exchange of leading energy technologies and best practices.

What are we offering?

Russia is offering the UNESCO member countries to create the architecture of the world energy system together, realizing the UNESCO  idea as the world ideas laboratory. In particular we are suggesting that the following projects be discussed:

- We are offering creation of the international fund of future energy technologies to simplify the access to the leading energy technologies, to increase the global energy effectiveness, and as a result the stability of global energy.

- We are offering the global energy long term scientific technological prognosis. It will help to prognosticate and level the risks of global energy safety and energy development, including, which is important, ecological.

- We are offering the system of standards in the sphere of energy education. In the long term perspective this will create the conditions for development of technologies in the sphere of energy (for the sake of creating the global technological infrastructure), help level the gap in energy development of a number of countries, and in the short term will allow to build energy dialogue not only on the “highest” diplomatic level, but importantly on the professional technological level.

- We are offering development of the classification and power supply quality standards (by analogy with the systems of the systems of population life quality evaluations). The development will work perspectively both in the energetically developed  and poor countries. The first will receive one more instrument of energy effectiveness development, the last – the legal ways of evaluation and struggle against energy poverty.

  - We are offering acceptance by the countries of the G-8 of the concrete obligations to fight the energy poverty. This will allow to make the next step in the joint struggle with the energy poverty on earth, and make an important investment into the global energy safety.

In concluding, allow me to note that today’s conference is certainly a unique event in the more-than-50-year history of relations between Russia and UNESCO. At the same time this is yet another example of the mutual respect and understanding that exist between Russia and UNESCO.

I am sure that the whole world community will have a number of opportunities to make sure that Russia with the great cultural background of world importance and Russia with the giant energy resources of global importance is one and the same country.