Authors

Discussion

The roundtable's speakers will explore how, besides its key role in providing energy security in more than a dozen of Russian regions, in particular Eastern Siberia and the Far East, coal mining is still economically crucial for regions that are heavily dependent on coal production.

The main purpose of the roundtable is to shed the light on the political economy of doing business in Russia in coal and the nature of Russian dirigisme in energy politics.  The fact that the export of coal brings Russia about 15-17 billion US dollars per year implies not only the high degree of competitiveness of private coal mining companies but also assumes a great deal of potential for lobbying to obtain different types of support including new licenses, tax relief, and transport subsidies.

Another important aspect of the roundtable is to present the key tenets of contemporary dialogue between Russia (and other major coal mining states) and those who advocate for a speedy energy transition to phase out coal, and examine the changing demand for Russian Coal in the global markets. China generates more than 60% of its energy from coal with India not far behind, and both refused to sign a COP26 agreement that pledged to “phase out” the use of the fuel.