In seeking to reduce Russia's greenhouse gas emissions, energy saving programs are more important than increased reliance on nuclear power, a World Wildlife Fund Russia official said on Tuesday.
Commenting on widespread calls to boost the role of nuclear power, Alexei Kokorin, who heads WWF Russia's Climate and Energy program, said: "This point of view is certainly on the rise."
He said that for many countries, including France, Armenia, Finland and Bulgaria, nuclear power may prove the best option for cutting emissions, but that in Russia's case "cheaper options need to be used."
"I know that in Russia, the main way to cut emissions is energy saving and energy efficiency", he said, and highlighted the findings of an International Energy Agency World Energy Outlook report published earlier this month.
The report concluded that "containing climate change is possible but will require a profound transformation of the energy sector", and that "Energy efficiency is the largest contributor [to perspective emissions cuts], accounting for over half of total abatement by 2030."
Korokin said he broadly supports nuclear power as a means of curtailing emissions, but that "this is far from the only way. Mankind still has plenty of possibilities that need to be used."
Russia has 21.2 GW of installed nuclear capacity, accounting for around 16% of national power generation. The country is the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gasses after China and the United States.
MOSCOW, November 24 (RIA Novosti)
