The Energetika 21 International Conference invites for an international event in St. Petersburg with parallel online participation on the topic of “Local Efforts and International Cooperation Needed for Achieving Net Zero Emissions” on30 November – 1 December 2023.

Background:

Energetika 21 is a scientific conference regularly held in November in St. Petersburg, addressing energy, environment and GHG issues by offering a platform to exchange information and ideas on these topics. In times of increasing global tensions Energetika 21 focuses on topics of common global interest such as the unanimously agreed targets of the Paris Agreement (PA) and the various approaches to achieve them from global, regional and local perspectives.

The Paris Agreement ascribes responsibility for meeting its targets to the individual countries. Net zeroCO2 emissions by mid-century is a necessary condition. Many countries have pledged to meet net zero within a time horizon reflecting the size of their population and economy as well as the present level of their specific emissions.

While energy efficiency and renewables are measures which in principle can be pursued on a national level, the dominant part of primary energy supply for the foreseeable future will come from fossil fuels with a substantial part traded across the borders to countries which lack the geology to sequester the resulting CO2 emissions. Achieving net zero CO2 emissions will largely benefit from cooperation across borders e.g. for transfer of knowledge on technological and economic approaches as well as for financing of the necessary investment and for managing CO2 sequestration. Cooperation on a regional level on energy policies and energy infrastructure in addition brings benefits both for security of energy supply and for its decarbonization. These topics will be addressed on Day 1 in the Plenary session and Session 1.

Globally roughly 30% of final energy demand is consumed each in the building, traffic and industry sectors. Buildings and traffic account for ca 60% of final energy demand resulting in CO2 emissions from small sources which cannot be abated at the point of emission. This requires substantial structural changes to supply and use of final energy without CO2 emissions as well as reducing energy use. These changes affect everyday life of people. They are mostly handled by municipalities facing similar challenges on traffic, while the problems of buildings depend largely on climatic conditions. These sectors are discussed on Day 2 in the Sessions 2 and 3.

Organizational issues:

The language of the workshop is English and Russian (simultaneous translation provided). It will take place at the venue of UNECON (Hall 2041, 30-32 Griboedova canal embankment) in St. Petersburg with the option to participate online. Participation is free, subject to registration and available places.To register, please, contact the Organizing committee: energetika@unecon.ru.