In the series of articles, the author analyzes recent domestic and foreign policy trends that significantly affect the current state and prospects for further development of the fuel and energy sectors of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan – the Central Asian states with significant reserves of hydrocarbons. This article is devoted to the current situation in the fuel and energy sector of the Republics of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.

The current process of aggravation of geopolitical and geo-economic competition on the world stage significantly increases the level of risks, updates the previous and generates new problems of the Central Asian republic economic development. The author assesses the impact of these processes on the prospects of foreign policy and foreign economic development strategies and regional stability. The author also considers and evaluates the main problems existing in the fuel and energy complex of the republic, and indicates promising areas for their possible resolution.

In the context of global geopolitical turbulence, the region, which faces numerous challenges and threats to economic and socio-political stability, finds itself in a situation of excessive dependence on global players in the geo-economic field. Consequently, such a region will have to adjust the previously established models of economic development and foreign policy.

The global energy sector has entered a state of “The New Normal”. This term is usually used to describe the current crisis situation in which society finds itself due to coronavirus. Now it has become widely used in Russia as well. Usually, this concept refers to changes that occur under the influence of a crisis in society and economy, denoting something that used to go beyond the norm, but has now become commonplace. However, the situation with the “The New Normal” is much more complicated. For Russia the most important characteristic of “the new normal” is that that the COVID-19 pandemic has served as the foundation for promoting the values of sustainable development, new economy and energy transition.

That trend is particularly evident in the European Union. The EU seeks to convert the large-scale task of overcoming the negative consequences of coronavirus into the driver of a radical green transformation of the European economy and energy. In particular, this is reflected in the plans of the EU leadership to introduce a mechanism for carbon adjustment of borders in the coming years.

In turn, the significant rise in the global role of the “low-carbon agenda” that is taking place in the context of the transition to “The New Normal” causes increasing pressure on consumers and producers of fossil energy resources. All this leads to the emergence of fundamentally new threats and challenges for Russia, especially considering the crucial role that energy plays for it. Russia is one of the world's largest consumers, producers and exporters of energy resources. In addition, Russian exports, due to their structure, are characterized by increased carbon intensity. Therefore, global trends in the production and consumption of energy resources are of particular importance for Russia. They have an impact not only on its socio-economic situation, but also on the foreign policy positions. How effectively Russia will be able to adapt to the conditions of “The New Normal” will depend on the future of its energy sector and, accordingly, the prospects for the development of Russia as a whole. In these conditions, the country is immediately required to develop a comprehensive and long-term energy policy that would minimize or even turn to its advantage the challenges that brings the new global energy reality.

The article discusses the main trends of cooperation between Romania and Moldova in the energy sector. In the context of the strategic partnership between Bucharest and Chișinău, energy has a special role to play. Moldovan politicians seriously expect that Romania will weaken Moldova’s energy dependence on Russian gas. The article analyzes the reasons why Moldova will not be able to do this in the near future.

First of all, this is due to the fact that Romania is currently a net importer of gas itself and can only supply Moldova with re-exported Russian gas at an inflated price. At the same time, despite Romania’s special interest in close relations with Moldova, Bucharest is implementing a multidisciplinary gas policy, including in cooperation with Bulgaria, thereby striving to acquire the status of a regional energy power.

The article analyzes the peculiarities of Romania’s functioning in the fuel market of Moldova, where it already occupies one of the leading places, and also considers the legislative initiatives of the Moldovan parliament to regulate the fuel market, which, ultimately, may lead to its monopolization by several large companies, including with the participation of Romanian capital. Special attention is paid to the geopolitical and geo-economic motives that guide Bucharest’s energy policy towards Moldova.

The article provides an assessment of the results of Russian oil and gas companies activities in the countries of the Arab East based on the study of the genesis of relations between the USSR and the countries of the region in the energy sector and the current situation.

It has been established that during the Soviet period of Russia‘s history, relations in the energy sector were more successful with the countries of North Africa, Syria and Iraq, that demonstrated political loyalty to the USSR and were economically dependent on it. The GCC countries, on the contrary, did not seek to establish diplomatic relations, showing fears of a serious ideological influence of the USSR on their politics and economy and inclining towards interaction with the United States and its allies, including the energy sphere. The long period of depression in the energy dialogue with the countries of the Arab East in the 1990s. was replaced by a period of growing expectations and hopes in the energy sector in the mid-2000s. After the resumption of the Russian-African dialogue in a new geopolitical configuration in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa, Russia resumed cooperation with the countries of the region, positioning itself as a world power capable of participating in the settlement of conflicts in the region on an equal basis with other leading powers. Presently, despite the difficulties in the military and political situation in a number of Arab countries, Russian companies continue to increase their presence on the territory of these states, or try to maintain their positions in the oil and gas sector. At the same time, scientific and technical cooperation aimed at intensive rather than extensive development of the oil and gas sector, in particular, the exchange of energy technologies with the GCC countries, will be particularly valuable.

The article examines the impact of the introduction of cross-border carbon regulation in the EU in 2022, aimed at introducing customs duties on carbon-intensive goods supplied by Russia to the community. The author shows possible consequences such regulation will have for the country. The article also provides a strategy aimed at adapting the Russian economy to the increased export costs to the EU, which should accelerate the development and adoption of a Federal law regulating standards for measuring greenhouse gas emissions and fees for them, accelerate the restructuring of the Russian economy in favor of manufacturing industries. I could also help in developing a program for cooperation with the EU countries in the spheres of hydrogen energy production and export.

The introduction of a cross-border carbon tax by the EU will not lead to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions into the Earth‘s atmosphere, where developing countries are currently the main emitters.

Within the framework of the climate agenda, based on the increasing amount of emissions in the next 20–30 years and their preservation in the Earth‘s atmosphere for 120 years, as well as taking into account the increasing number of cataclysms in the form of floods, cold and hot anomalies on Earth, it is advisable for Russia to propose UN to create a global Environmental fund, contributions to which in the form of a climate tax should be formed depending on the amount of accumulated emissions by each country over the past 60–70 years.

The fund‘s resources should be spent in three directions. The first is to help developing countries adopt renewable energy, the second is to encourage producers developing technologies for decarbonizing hydrocarbon emissions, and the third is to reward countries that have achieved the greatest success in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Japan and the Republic of Korea have almost no domestic energy resources and are more than 90 % dependent on supplies from abroad. China is able to meet its coal needs, but also has to import oil and natural gas in ever-increasing volumes. It is clear why in the XXI century the states under consideration are experiencing a boom in the development of renewable energy as an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels.

Classical renewable energy sources (wind, solar and hydro generation) are an important step towards achieving energy independence, but their widespread use is difficult for technological and climatic reasons.

In this situation, hydrogen comes to the fore as an energy source of the future, which can significantly expand the potential for applying alternative types of energy. Nevertheless, it is obvious that only green hydrogen obtained by electrolysis using renewable energy power plants can be considered sufficiently environmentally friendly and contribute to solving the problem of low-carbon economy transition.

Given the size of the economies of East Asian countries and the planned scale of consumption, it becomes obvious that domestic production of green hydrogen will not be enough and the increase of import will be necessary. This entails the creation of an international export-import regime, starting from bilateral agreements, since hydrogen is extremely explosive and clearly requires special conditions for transportation, storage and use for energy needs. Therefore, it is of great research interest to study the steps and measures taken by Japan, China and the Republic of Korea to organize such an international regime.

The prospects for the development of renewable energy in Armenia are shown in the context of the challenges of diversifying the ways to ensure energy security. The authors assess potential of solar, wind, bio-, geothermal and small hydropower in Armenia. The main threats and risks that hinder the full development of renewable energy sources are identified, among which the problems of state regulation and energy policy in general are highlighted. A brief analysis and characteristics of implemented or ongoing projects in the field of renewable energy sources are given. Particular attention is paid to the escalation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, as a result of which shelling of Armenian territories, violation of the sovereign borders of Armenia by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces call into question the feasibility of large projects in the field of renewable energy, carried out in areas close to the border.

The article identifies the necessity of implementing programs in the field of energy efficiency. In this regard, the main directions of cooperation between Armenia and the EU in this area are considered. It is established that the EU continues to be the key partner of Armenia in the field of renewable energy and energy efficiency development. Interaction with the EU is aimed primarily at improving the investment climate in the energy sector, reducing the republic‘s dependence on imports of hydrocarbons, developing green financing instruments, etc.

The increase in the number of cases of a new coronavirus infection in March 2021 pushed the central government of India to introduce tough measures, including social life. As a result, the country returned to lockdown for a while. In May, the restrictions began to be gradually lifted, but the state of Kerala, which now contains up to half of the entire infected population of India, remains in a state of lockdown. The author notes that in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, the country has faced political and economic challenges. In political terms, the N. Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has somewhat lost its influence in the regions, partly due to the introduction of unpopular restrictive measures in connection with Covid-19. Concerning the socio-economic aspect, several million labor migrants from the Middle East, who were left without means of livelihood, returned to their homeland, mainly in rural regions. Nevertheless, the popularity and authority of Prime Minister N. Modi have not changed much. The researcher believes that overcoming the coronavirus pandemic in the economy, and especially in the energy sector, is quite difficult. This is due to the fact that India imports up to 50 % of energy resources (oil, natural gas in the form of LNG), therefore it significantly depends on the world prices. The rise of the latter, in particular concerning oil and natural gas, has a direct impact on the purchasing power and cost of production. This means that it slows down the economic development of the republic, taking into account the increased share of the poor population in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, the energy policy of Modi’s government is aimed at increasing the production of renewable energy sources in the country’s energy balance. In turn, the One Nation – One Gas Network strategy is aimed at ensuring access to natural gas for the majority of the population of India. This also makes it possible to strengthen the country’s energy security in the conditions of New Delhi’s compliance with the terms of the Paris Climate Agreement (2015).

The crisis of 2020 caused by quarantine restrictions of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the decline in prices of energy sources and demand for them on world markets caused an economic downturn in Kazakhstan. At the same time, the combination of these factors caused a decrease in economic activity, living standards, purchasing power and led to a significant decrease in state revenues. The situation was complicated by the simultaneous growth of state expenditures on healthcare and socially unprotected segments of the population. In this context, the processes of regionalization, in which Kazakhstan had actively participated, began to dissipate at an accelerated rate. For Kazakhstan, the use of foreign economic policy instruments, including multi-vector cooperation, provided access to new markets, which made it possible to reduce the loss of falling revenues from oil and gas exports. The recovery growth in 2021 showed the effectiveness of this approach in the conditions of the traditional raw material model of an export-oriented economy.