Transforming Competition in a Carbon-Free Economy

Abstract

The article deals with the issues of transformation of the economy as a result of energy transition and the achievement of carbon neutrality. The studies and the discussed draft regulatory legal acts indicate the presence of a number of negative factors arising in the transition to a carbon neutral economy. Thus, the refusal to finance traditional fuel markets can lead them to a state of stagnation, despite the fact that fossil fuels have been in demand for a very long time, including for the production of carbon-free fuels. When assessing the consequences of the transition of an economy to carbon neutrality in terms of regulation of competition relations, as a rule, factors uncharacteristic of the traditional economy are not evaluated. Until recently, challenges to competition in traditional markets were formed, as a rule, as a result of the objectively evolutionary development of technology and product markets under the influence of the economic and legal mechanism of monopolization. At present, the conditions for the transition to a carbon-neutral economy are formed by decision-making and regulation centers purposefully independent from most countries in the world (including Russia). This creates new artificial threats to competition that require not only reflection, but also the rapid adoption of adequate response measures in order to protect markets from the negative impact of new threats to the rivalry of economic entities that is in Russia’s interests.