by Silvia Boltuc In November 2020 Belarus inaugurates the new Astravyets nuclear power plant built in collaboration with Russia. During the opening ceremony, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko stated that the nuclear power plant marked the beginning of a new era for the country. Although the Baltic republics raised concerns over the Astravyets’ security, nowadays the nuclear power plant (hereinafter NPP) is operational and is preparing to cope with growing domestic energy demand and external supply demands. Astravyets is the first NPP in Belarus and one of the infrastructures that the government has decided to build according to the country’s climate policies. On the one hand, the Belarus Government would like to stabilize and improve the national economy and meet domestic energy needs. On the other hand, Minsk aims at applying ecological policies to reduce the environmental impact of the country’s energy industry. In this context, since Belarus has relations with major international players such as Russia and China, the country has become an indispensable partner in the Eurasian energy market. I met the representatives of the Belarusian Ministry of Energy (Minenergo) to broadly discuss the Belarus energy market and strategy. The construction of the Astravyets NPP might be considered a significant step in the Belarus climate change policies. Could you tell us more about Belarus future energy policies? “As part of the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement adopted in December 2015, the Republic of Belarus has committed itself to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 28% by 2030 compared to the 1990 level. The strategic objective is to achieve a higher quality of environmental protection by providing the population with living conditions that respect ecological standards, to promote the solution of regional and global environmental problems and sustainable national social and economic development. Energy is the main sector of the country’s economy and society. Our national energy policy aims to define pathways and to develop mechanisms to ensure the security of the State, the more efficient use of energy resources and the reduction of environmental impact. Minenergo has implemented several strategic programs aimed at reducing environmental impact, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions in atmospheric air by 6.92 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTCDE) per year, according to the following points: construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. updating existing generation structures with the commissioning of new high-efficiency generation capacities. dismantling of inefficient self-depreciated generating plants. to provide energy installations with automated control systems or on pollutant emissions from the atmosphere. Significant work has been done in recent years to increase the use of renewable energy, E.g. the construction of the Grodno Hydropower Plant (17 MW), the Polotsk Hydropower Plant (21.66 MW), the Vitebsk Hydropower Plant (40 MW) and the Grabniki wind farm (9 MW). The project to produce electricity from the recycling of Minsk municipal solid waste is currently being developed.” The governments of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have issued a joint statement against the Astravyets Nuclear Power Plant. The Baltic republics have also asked...