Concluding Declaration MIEF-2013
We, the participants of XI Moscow International Energy Forum "Russian Energy and Fuel Complex in the XXI century" (MIEF-2013):
- note that after 11 years of our forum’s work, it has become a major public event promoting sustainable energy and economic development;
- recognize the urgent need for a partnership of civil society, business and government in finding answers to global energy, environmental and other challenges faced by the international community;
- recognize the key role of the energy factor in global economic and social development, as well as the interdependence of energy, environment and climate security in the context of sustainable development and increase of social and economic well-being.
We note, with grave concern, that the global processes in the world economy are accompanied by negative trends with destructive potential, the political will and the efforts of the leaders of some countries and international organizations are barely holding back the rising chaos.
We affirm, with regret and concern, that the hopes that the international community had pinned to the Rio+20 international conference largely failed to materialize. Despite some positive developments, including the adoption of the final declaration and recognition of the principle of common yet differentiated responsibilities, no breakthrough solutions or specific commitments that could give new impetus to sustainable development, were accepted.
We reaffirm our commitment to sustainable development stated at the previous forums, and pledge our support for new initiatives and efforts of international organizations, sovereign states, corporations, and expert scientific community towards development of a global partnership in order to conserve the environment and improve the well-being of society.
We note, with anxiety and concern, that the strategic uncertainty of current global development is compounded by increased social and economic contradictions, the escalation of armed conflicts and the deteriorating of humanitarian situation in several regions of the world. Persistent political instability and social unrest in the world, as well as the inability of the world economic system to adapt to changes and respond to new global challenges serve as evidence of modern world’s legal and institutional model’s imperfection putting the issue of the need to select a new configuration of the historical, social and economic world order on the agenda.
We stress that the dominant in the modern world the neoliberal model of economic development based on the international financial system, built in a unipolar world, has exhausted its potential. Presently, this model is not able to generate new solutions to global challenges and to ensure a turnaround of world’s technological development to a fundamentally new within sustainable development.
We note that in the global energy sector as one of the key elements of the international economic system, there are opposite trends of development and all the negative factors reflect on the modern economy. Despite some positive trends, in general, system energy problems are far from resolved.
The unpredictability of energy markets and the dominant influence imposed on them by financial speculation still remain primary systemic risks for long-term investments in energy and are deemed as a serious threat to global energy security and international economic stability.
We note that the global power and energy markets are undergoing significant changes. Qualitatively new directions of world energy, including advanced development of renewable energy, accelerated growth of recovery of unconventional hydrocarbons and LNG sector, change the balance of power in global energy markets and have a significant impact on related industries and markets for goods and services, forming new technology trends.
We express our conviction that these changes will have large-scale and far-reaching consequences for the key players in the global energy markets. An obvious consequence of the changes in the energy sector will be a tightening of cross-country competition, strengthening the position of consumers of energy resources and as a consequence, increased price competition. In the new conditions the probability of a change of the traditional rules and pricing increases.
In these conditions, the demand for the state and business, independent system studies and projections of world energy, the possible transformation of forms and states of energy markets and their implications on energy suppliers and consumers, especially such large as Russia. We welcome the emergence of the country's regular process of integrated energy development forecasts of Russia and the rest of the world.
More acutely on the agenda, the question about adaptation of economic and energy strategies of countries and global companies in changing conditions arises. Key importance is the increasing energy and environmental efficiency, investment attractiveness and operating efficiency in the energy sector, the promotion of technological innovations.
In this regard, we consider it necessary to update the Russian Energy Strategy as a part of system measures in the framework of a new model of economic growth based on domestic sources of growth and new factors of competitiveness focused on the speedy overcoming of infrastructural and institutional disorder within of the national economy and radical improvement of the quality of the national human capital.
We believe that the new Russian Energy Strategy’s main task for the medium term must include the mobilization of resources to hold the position in the global commodity markets and stimulate domestic demand for goods and services within Fuel & Energy industry. It must contain new criteria of energy efficiency, development priorities of energy industry and related industries, accounting for new trends in the world of energy and generate appropriate product and technology priorities of energy development.
The main objectives of the updated Energy Strategy must be the achievement of a new level of energy efficiency of the national economy, competitiveness and environmental performance of the Russian fuel and energy complex and, as a consequence, the availability of consumer-level price and quality of products and services received from energy companies, satisfying the conditions to stimulate domestic demand.
We propose that in the renewed Russian Energy Strategy the focus on structural forecasting, allowing, together with an assessment of emerged trends, to forecast the formation of innovative trends that might occur on the basis of the contradictions inherent in the current and future direction of the world and the Russian energy sector. In this regard, we consider it necessary to establish Russian system of long-term forecasting of Russian and world energy.
We are convinced that the new economic strategy will become a powerful Russian competitive advantage only under condition it is supported by society and business. In this context, the crucial importance has the problem of building trust between business and society on the one hand and the state on the other hand, with the increased role of civil society in making strategic decisions.
We are confident that the Moscow International Energy Forum "Russian Fuel and Energy Complex in the XXI Century", as well as other reputable non-governmental forums, must expand further as an open public and expert discussion platform for the key issues of energy development alongside with a citizens’ tribune for consolidation of society, business and government efforts towards sustainable energy development.
