From a scientific point of view, the large-scale introduction of RES will not have the expected effect on the climate. The refusal of the main initiators of the climate agenda from its implementation and the termination of preferential financing of “green” projects is confirmed by objective conclusions of a number of scientists. This was stated by Igor Sechin, Chief Executive Officer of Rosneft, during the Energy Panel of the XXVIII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Sechin noted that the whole concept of “net zero” is based on the assumption of climate destruction due to the growing concentration of carbon dioxide. However, recent studies by Western experts have confirmed earlier conclusions by Nobel laureate John Clauser about the dominant influence of clouds on climate processes. “Even a slight decrease in cloud cover at altitudes below 2,000 meters can increase solar heating of the Earth's surface by a few per cent. This effect is several times greater than the effect that doubling the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would have on climate,” said the CEO of Rosneft.

According to the conclusions of American physicists Richard Lindzen and William Happer, achieving “net zero” in the U.S. by 2050 will avoid a temperature rise of only two hundredths of a degree Fahrenheit, and worldwide - only thirteen hundredths of a degree. The effect looks obviously disproportionate to the amount of costs required, Igor Sechin emphasized.

He also noted the ambiguity of the thesis about the reduction of the ice cover, which is often used by supporters of the theory of the “green” transition. Recent studies by Chinese scientists have shown that from 2021 to 2023 in Antarctica there was a significant increase in ice mass, 108 gigatons annually.

The CEO of Rosneft believes that the development of RES should be based on time-tested traditional energy sources in order not to undermine global energy security. Historically, the energy transition has always been the result of growing inter-fuel competition based on the principle of the greatest efficiency. Therefore, today, coal remains the largest source of electricity in the world and the second largest source of energy with a 25% share of the global energy mix.

 “Global demand for the fuel set a new record of 8.8 billion tons last year and international agencies have once again been forced to revise expectations for peak demand,” Sechin summarized. Despite growing global concern over global warming, global coal consumption has grown by 75% since the Kyoto Protocol was signed in 1997 and by almost 15% since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015.

Department of Information and Advertising
Rosneft Oil Company
June 21, 2025