ON SOME ASPECTS OF THE ENERGY POLICY OF THE EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION IN THE CONTEXT OF THE CLIMATE AGENDA

Abstract

This article is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of the energy policy of the EAEU in the context of the global energy transition and the tightening of the international climate agenda. The relevance of the study is due to the objective contradiction between the significant resource potential of the Union’s countries — historically based on the extraction of fossil fuels — and the growing international commitments to decarbonization under the Paris Agreement. The aim of the work is to identify the degree of regulatory and legal interconnection between energy and environmental aspects in the EAEU integration space. Based on a comparative legal and documentary analysis of the provisions of the Treaty on the EAEU and related programs, the authors conclude that environmental safety remains insufficiently institutionalized at the level of the basic union law, which is primarily focused on market and macroeconomic goals. At the same time, an analysis of secondary legislation (in particular, the Program for the Formation of Common Markets for Oil and Petroleum Products) demonstrates the presence of regulatory potential for developing a coordinated “green” agenda. In addition, the necessity of directly enshrining the principles of environmental safety as priority guidelines for the EAEU’s energy policy is substantiated; this will make it possible to harmonize national approaches and ensure the sustainable, balanced development of the Eurasian space.