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- Inhale and release: the authorities want to introduce a moratorium on a sharp increase in eco-catchments for the fuel and energy sector
Inhale and release: the authorities want to introduce a moratorium on a sharp increase in eco-catchments for the fuel and energy sector
The authorities may abandon plans to dramatically increase ecological reserves for the fuel and energy sector. The head of the Ministry of Energy, Sergey Tsivilev, asked the government to introduce a moratorium on increasing environmental payments for industry enterprises. Starting in 2026, the rates of fees for negative environmental impact will increase to 250% for companies engaged in exploration and production, and up to 1300% for petrochemicals and oil refining. According to the minister, this may cause an outflow of investments and a deterioration of the investment climate in the oil and gas industry. In addition, the new rates will inevitably increase the cost of production, which, in turn, may lead to higher energy prices. About the impact that the growth of payments can have on the domestic fuel and energy sector and how justified the introduction of a moratorium is in the Izvestia article.
How much will the fuel and energy complex pay for the environment
Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilev has asked the government to impose a moratorium on the growth of all environmental payments for enterprises of the fuel and energy complex (fuel and energy complex). The corresponding letter (Izvestia has it) On December 1, it was sent to Deputy Prime Ministers Denis Manturov, Alexander Novak and Dmitry Patrushev.
In the document, the head of the Ministry of Energy noted several challenges for fuel and energy companies in the environmental sphere, including an increase in payment rates for negative environmental impact (NWO) for 2026-2030. They were approved by Government Decree No. 2409-r dated September 1, 2025.
According to the analysis of the order conducted by the Ministry of Energy, if in 2025 the costs of companies in the electric power industry for payments for non-standard energy services amount to 0.692 billion rubles, then in 2026, taking into account the new requirements, they will increase to 5.3 billion, and in 2030 to 92 billion rubles (an increase of almost 133 times). In total, in 2026-2030, the payment of generating companies for the negative impact on the environment will amount to more than 183.5 billion rubles. And taking into account all current and projected environmental legislation, "the additional annual burden on the electric power industry may amount to more than 280 billion rubles," the document says.
Sergey Tsivilev also noted the difficult financial and economic condition of the coal industry. "The share of unprofitable organizations increased by 13.7%, to 65.4%. Since 2024, the payment for negative environmental impact has been characterized by steady growth, equivalent to 355% by 2030 (from 1.7 to 6.2 billion rubles), the sources of which have not been identified," the minister emphasizes.
In addition, in his opinion, "a significant increase in the amount of fees for non-residential enterprises can cause an outflow of investments and a deterioration of the investment climate in the oil and gas complex."
He drew attention to the fact that currently oil and gas companies face a high fiscal burden, as well as sanctions pressure. They incur significant costs for the purchase, modernization and updating of equipment, including those aimed at reducing discharges and emissions of pollutants. According to the projected recalculation of the NWOC fees, "the increase in payments for 2026-2030 will be up to 250% in the Exploration and Production block and up to 1300% in the Petrochemistry and Oil Refining block by the base scenario — the fee rate at the level of 2025," the letter says.
The new rates will inevitably lead to an increase in the cost of work and services, the cost of products, which, in turn, may cause an increase in energy prices, Tsivilev believes.
In the letter, he stressed that "before the adoption of Order No. 2409-r, his project did not undergo regulatory impact assessment and coordination with relevant ministries (the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Industry and Trade), and therefore it did not take into account the economic consequences and all aspects of its impact" on the industry.
Taking into account the above, the head of the Ministry of Energy asked the deputy prime ministers to hold a joint meeting with the participation of the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Agriculture and other interested executive authorities, and to discuss the establishment of a moratorium on the growth of all environmental payments for fuel and energy companies "in an amount exceeding the growth of such payments above inflation for the period until the stabilization of the current macroeconomic situation."
Izvestia sent inquiries to the offices of the deputy prime ministers, interested departments, the largest oil and gas, generating and coal companies in the country.
Industrialists are concerned about the growth of eco-payments
On October 7, the head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), Alexander Shokhin, also wrote an appeal (Izvestia has it) to the head of government, Mikhail Mishustin, in which he expressed concern about the upcoming increase in emissions payments. In particular, he pointed to an "unprecedented increase" in rates over the next five years.
"Their increase will begin immediately from 2026, when the fee rate for 35 pollutants will increase from 2 to 11 thousand times at a time," Shokhin's letter says.
At the same time, the head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs noted that this year the rates of payment for emissions have already increased by an average of 20%, and in some cases, such as with phosphate ion emissions, by three times.
Alexander Shokhin asked the Cabinet to suspend the entry into force of the new rates and keep the current ones for 2026 with possible indexation in accordance with the projected inflation rate. The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs insisted that such an act should be approved not by an order, but by a government decree, as happened in 2019-2024.
In September, after the order was published, a press release from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment noted that "extensive discussions with businesses, regional and interested federal authorities took place during the preparation of the document." The agency also noted that "the key task of the state is not to charge for environmental damage, but to encourage businesses to modernize their production, use the best available environmental technologies to produce their goods, and people and natural complexes that are located near factories and factories must be protected."
According to the agency, last year the regional budgets received about 29 billion rubles of "colored environmental payments," of which the payment for negative environmental impact amounted to 22 billion.
A moratorium is not an abrogation of responsibility
According to Dmitry Tortev, a member of the Expert Council of the State Duma Committee for the Protection of Competition, the moratorium is not a rejection of the "green" agenda, but a requirement for its rational and fair application.
— Today, the fuel and energy sector, especially the coal sector, is facing a difficult situation. Imposing an additional financial burden of hundreds of percent on this is a risk of direct losses and reduction of development programs instead of investments in modernization," he said.
According to Tortev, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment initially planned a predictable and smooth increase in rates starting in 2026. However, under pressure from budget constraints and the growing costs of the department, it was decided to sharply increase them as early as 2025, and then a tight schedule for the following years was approved. He also stressed that the issue had not been widely discussed, including with businesses.
— The calculation methodology that led to the abnormal figures remained unclear to the expert community. The regulatory framework and calculations require serious technical refinement and verification," the expert believes.
Yuri Stankevich, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Energy, noted that the topic raised by Sergey Tsivilev is extremely sensitive.
— It's like choosing between a bad and a very bad decision. On the one hand, through the improvement of regulatory policy, the government has consistently tightened the "environmental screws" over the years, following the principle of "the polluter always pays" and forcing industry to introduce the best available technologies. On the other hand, the sanctions that accompany our lives create conditions of force majeure. In such a situation, decisions can be exceptional," he said.
The MP is confident that a heated discussion will break out in the government between industry departments and the environmental protection unit. In addition to the fact that environmental fees are a significant addition to the budget for solving the tasks of national projects, improving the environmental situation has been promoted for many years as an absolute priority, which the country's political leadership has been talking about.
The key argument of the Ministry of Energy may be that in the current macroeconomic environment, a sharp increase in non-tax payments will entail a significant diversion of funds from industrial modernization programs, which, in turn, can affect energy security and slow down the already low economic growth, concluded Yuri Stankevich.
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