Climate policy of oil and gas companies in the Russian Federation

Abstract

Oil and gas companies are facing a critical challenge as the world increasingly shifts towards clean energy transitions. Fossil fuels drive the companies' near-term returns, but failure to address growing calls to reduce greenhouse gas emissions could threaten their long-term social acceptability and profitability. In the current realities of financial technology development, it is necessary to move from traditional ways of financing companies' activities to more transparent, fast and efficient ones with positive environmental considerations. The article reveals the distinctive features of the climate policy of the oil and gas business of the Russian Federation, in particular, the realities of the development of this industry in the face of foreign economic shocks in the form of sanctions as well as how to keep the damage to the environment to a minimum. The oil and gas business and companies in this industry are significant not only within the country but also on the international market as participants in export-import, finance, investment, political and other types of relations. The availability of such fuel and energy resources within the country allows it to be in a certain degree in high positions on the world market, since companies in the industry accumulate a significant amount of capital in their foreign trade and foreign economic activities and, to a certain extent, ensure the movement of foreign currency within the framework of their trade and economic relations. The authors of the article calculated an economic and mathematical model based on the structural-dynamic and coefficient analysis, that allows determining the feasibility of forming a new digital tool for the devising constructive Climate Policy for oil and gas projects financing. In the course of the analysis, based on Russian quarterly data for 2015-2018, the connection between the level of overdue debt on oil companies loans and the development indicators of the Russian oil and gas business was determined. The main conclusions presented in the article can be used in scientific and practical activities to develop financial and credit technologies as well as Climate Policy used in the oil and gas business.