Energy Research Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

L. S. Plakitkina, Head of Research Center for Coal Industry in the World and in Russia, Candidate of Engineering Sciences, luplak@rambler.ru
Yu. A. Plakitkin, Head of Center for Analysis and Innovation in Energy, Doctor of Economic Sciences, Professor
K. I. Dyachenko, Senior Researcher, Research Center for Coal Industry in the World and in Russia, Candidate of Engineering Sciences

Russia’s coal industry withstands currently impact of threats and challenges connected not only with decarbonization of the global economy but also with sanctions. The major threats are the embargo on Russian coal trade, mining equipment procurement ban, prohibition of financial instruments of foreign trade activity performance by coal companies and the restriction of access to international debt financing for the Russian coal business. The major challenges are the technological innovation boost and global climate action agenda. This article gives an estimate of scale of potential financial and economic losses sustained by Russia because of the global threats and challenges, including probable level of drop in coal production, gross proceeds, taxes and various payments, as well as social losses due to reduction of staff in the coal industry and, consequently, losses of jobs in coal mining regions in Russia. The estimate displays a high level of the listed losses, which requires the
coal business and the government to make decisions to prevent such losses, at the very least, and to promote financial and economic indicators of coal companies, at the very most. Such decision-making should be tactical and strategical (up to 2050). Tactically, Russia’s coal industry has already succeeded in resisting the active threats: coal production and export in 2023 almost attained the pre-sanction level of 2021. Strategically, the coal industry in Russia is to adapt to the mentioned challenges by 2050. For adapting the coal industry to the active threats and challenges, the authors propose its step-by-step diversification. The analysis of the personnel structure in the coal industry and the conformance evaluation of the competencies of the operational staff in the industry relative to the current construction trends reveals high level of adaptation of the coal industry to implementation of projects concerned with large infrastructure communications. The research involved the analysis and systematization of large projects on building transportation communications in various regions in Russia, with possible use of released assets of coal companies. The compiled list is a framework for agglomerating a bank of the infrastructure projects and estimating a possible ‘field’ of relocation and trends in use of released assets of the coal industry in Russia.

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