Assessment of the global climate change impact on Fuel and Energy Complex infrastructure and adaptation opportunities in the Russian Arctic

Abstract

The paper considers the problems and features of the functioning of the energy complex in the regions of the Russian Arctic under the influence of global climate change. Particular attention is paid to new ideas and developments intended for practical use in developing measures to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change. The issues of optimising the composition and structure of the energy economy of the Arctic territories in the areas of permanent residence, reducing the burden on natural ecosystems, and risks in the field of sustainable economic and social development of the Arctic region are discussed. The ways are proposed for developing new approaches to the formation of a strategy for the development of the region’s energy infrastructure under the influence of climatic and environmental factors on the natural environment. The mechanisms of the impact of changes in the climatic characteristics of the region on the operating conditions and the efficiency of energy facilities of the fuel and energy complex are determined. The degree of this dependence was studied for different types of infrastructure facilities of the fuel and energy complex. The data on the assessment of the impact of global climate change on the infrastructure of the fuel and energy complex and the possibilities for its adaptation, which include: the implications for power generation facilities; impact on energy transportation; problems of thawing permafrost and solifluction; climate impact on energy consumption and socio-economic effects; the role of distributed energy and renewable energy in adaptation to climate change. It is shown that for the territories of the Russian Arctic with isolated energy supply, the development of energy-efficient systems and renewable energy will reduce climate risks for sustainable growth. Not only of this power sector but the whole economic complex of the region due to both their better adaptation to the effects of climate change and the reduction of technogenic greenhouse gas emissions, which are one of the main factors of these changes.