Gazprom lecturing on clean environment

Scrap UK's wind farm plans, says Gazprom boss

Deputy chairman of Russia's Gazprom argues plans for renewable energy are irrational and should be replaced by more gas-fired power stations

Alexander Medvedev said the UK and other countries should adopt a more "pragmatic" approach towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions following the impasse at the Copenhagen climate change summit. He argued it would be impossible to meet the UK's target to generate a third of its electricity from renewables by 2020 without a big contribution from gas. He also claimed it would be three times cheaper to meet emission reduction targets by replacing dirty coal plants with new gas plants rather than wind farms.

"If we do not want to see the authors of the 2020 strategy decapitated in a public square, I do not think they can forget about gas," he said. "We at Gazprom believe gas should be treated on an equal footing as renewables. I just hope that after the disappointment post-Copenhagen that the decision-makers will take a more pragmatic and rational approach to this.