nordic council of ministers wednesday, december 23, 20151 session on green growth eu baltic sea...

Nordic Council of Ministers

Friday, April 21, 2023 1

Session on Green Growth

EU Baltic Sea Strategy - Annual Forum

Tallinn 14-15 October 2010

Green Growth in Kaliningrad, Russia

by Director, Arne GroveInformation Office of Nordic Council of Minister in Kaliningrad

Nordic Council of MinistersKaliningrad - a region in BSR

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Nordic Council of MinistersNCM in Kaliningrad

• Office registered and in operation since June 2006

• Network- and knowledge-building activities

• Workshops, seminars and study visits• Facilitating cooperation within BSR• No financial instruments for

investment, but we cooperate with and promote NEFCO, EBRD and IFC

• Strategic partners include i.a.– Helcom– BASREC & NDPHS – Baltic Development Forum– Association of European Business in

Russia

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Nordic Council of MinistersGreen activities I

• Helcom 7 Stakeholder workshops with focus on Helcom Baltic Sea Action plan in 6 regions of NW Russia

• Cooperation with Helcom and SIDA on implementation on strategic projects as e.g. BALTHAZAR and Baltic COMPAS

• NGO project on Espoo Convention• Facilitating Russian participation in

BRISK via BRISK_RU cofinanced by NCM.– Assessment of risk for oil spill in the

Baltic Sea– Sub-regional agreements to reduce

risks from oil spils– Coordinated investment plan to reduce

risks from oil spils

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Nordic Council of MinistersGreen activities II

• Energy cooperation with NW Russia, 2008-– Study visits to Nordic Countries– Seminars in NW Russia

• Networks and relationships established– Energy managers of 11 regions of NW

Russia including i.a.: Kaliningrad, Pskov, Karelia, Leningrad region and St. Petersburg City

– Energy managers of municipalities in Kaliningrad region.

• Contribution to planning energy-saving at local level, Federal law on Energy-saving form 2009.

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Nordic Council of MinistersObservations until now

• Helcom BSA and EU BSR Action plan instruments for setting priorities in our cooperation with NW Russia

• The attitude to energy saving has changed from 2008 to 2010, NCM has played a role in NW Russia

• There is a huge market for Nordic and EU business within energy and environment

• Barriers including i.a. Russian tariff policy market• No “market follow up” projects on “Pilot

projects”• Russian know how, technology and market

system is not developed to attract private investments to meet the demand

• Development of business cooperation is not developed except for outstanding examples as Rockwool, Siemens and other big brands

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A note on Russia and the Baltic Sea Strategy

Though Russia is not a formal partner of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, Russia is ready to cooperate and participate in areas of joint interest.

Green Growth is one such area of joint interest.

Consequently NCM works to facilitate integration and engage with Russian partners also within the context of the EU Baltic Sea Strategy.



Business integration of Kaliningrad in BSR

Need for a systematic approach to develop business cooperation First attempt is the project “Business integration of Kaliningrad in the Baltic Sea Region”

The project aims to: a) Analyze the market for energy efficiency technologies and renewable energy solutions in Kaliningrad.

b) Identify and communicate market opportunities for Nordic companies and partners in Kaliningrad.




The project Steering Group – with members from Russia and public and private partners in BSR – met on 8 October 2010.

The Steering Group concluded:

- There is a great interest for cooperation on EE (and RE)

- The project will focus on: 1) Conversion from coal to biofuel in 6 local district heating systems; 2) Introduce energy saving street light; and showcase/promote SmartHouses.

- There is a need for public-private dialogue that to accelerate innovation and competitiveness (using the cluster approach)




Green Growth benefits:

Conversion from coal to bio-fuel; energy saving street light; and SmartHouses all provides excellent new green business opportunities in Russia for companies in the BSR.

Other benefits:

Development of clusters and innovation systems in Kaliningrad offers new opportunities for private and public partners to cooperate with Russia.

Possibly, the new partnership with Russia could spill over to benefit also the BSR flagship project on cluster development (Project 7.1: Develop a Baltic Sea Region Programme for Innovation, Clusters and SME-Networks).



Next steps and implications for BSS

Implications:

Based on the experiences on EE, RE and business integration, the NCM is now preparing a more extensive programme to facilitate business integration of Kaliningrad in BSR, with perspectives to cover other parts of NW Russia.

Kaliningrad and NW Russia can benefit from a number of ongoing BSR activities.

Currently, potential and emerging clusters in Kaliningrad are being reviewed (ICT and nanotechnology, life science, food & meat processing, furniture, tourism, energy & cleantech).



Thank you!

E-mail: [email protected]

www.norden.org

nordic council of ministers wednesday, december 23, 20151 session on green growth eu baltic sea...

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