Response of renewable energy minerals to energy policy and technological advancement: An assessment of the Russian energy crisis

Abstract

The world is turning to renewable energy sources to combat environmental degradation. This is part of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)-7, which envisions affordable and clean energy. However, achieving the SDG-7 targets and spreading clean energy requires extracting and utilizing various minerals. Russia is one of the leading countries in the world in terms of cobalt, graphite, and rare elements used for renewable energy production. Russia must increase the production of minerals for renewable energy production to achieve SDG-7. In this context, the study aims to investigate the impact of energy policy uncertainty (ENPU), environmental policy stringency (EPS), environmental patents (ETEC), and information and communication technologies (ICT) on renewable energy minerals in Russia. To this end, the study uses novel multivariate quantile-on-quantile regression (M-QQR) and cross-quantilogram (CQ) approaches for the period from 2002m9–2020m12. The M-QQR results show that EPS, ICT, and ETEC increase the extraction of renewable energy minerals, while ENPU inhibits the extraction of cobalt, graphite, and rare elements. The main results indicate that technological progress supports the extraction of renewable energy minerals in Russia and that a strict environmental fiscal policy contributes to the achievement of SDG-7. Based on the findings, Russia needs to support technological progress in the ecological field, implement strict environmental policies, and reduce uncertainties related to energy policies to extract renewable energy minerals and advance the achievement of SDG-7.