There are rich deposits of rare earth elements (REE) in the Murmansk region, Russia (approximately 14 194 kt of REE 2 O 3 ). At the moment only one of REE deposits are being extracted and processed, the Lovozero Loparite deposit. The main purpose of this article is to estimate the expected value of existing REE resources in the Murmansk region and to make an overview on actual technologies for the extraction and processing of REE from ore minerals. Based on these data, the authors propose a direction for the development of REE industry in the region, namely extraction of REE from minerals already mined (apatite of the Khibiny deposits and baddeleyite of the Kovdor deposit); optimisation or development of mineral processing technologies of eudialyte (the Lovozero Eudialyte deposit) and perovskite (the Afrikanda deposit); carrying out exploration works at the Keivy Zr-REE ore occurrences and developing processing and technologies for these ores.

Efforts to control climate change with the aim of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 have had the most significant impact on businesses operating in the energy sector, which produce large amounts of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In light of such policies, oil and gas companies have set goals aimed at reducing GHG emissions and achieving carbon neutrality, but the issue remains open as to how such activities and progress towards these goals can be evaluated. This study attempts to assess the activities and progress of oil and gas companies towards carbon neutrality, with a focus on quantitative evaluation of goal achievement. First, an algorithm was developed for selecting global oil and gas companies for the analysis that reported their activities in 2022. Using this algorithm, a list of companies was compiled and their goals with regard to carbon neutrality were analyzed. Second, an assessment of how information is presented in corporate reports and which activities aimed at achieving carbon neutrality are reflected there was performed using the proposed checklist. Third, a method for evaluating the progress of oil and gas companies towards intermediate goals in the area of carbon neutrality was developed and tested. The method is based on assessing and comparing trends for oil and gas companies aiming to achieve intermediate goals in reducing carbon intensity. As a result, companies were classified into three categories: (1) those showing carbon neutrality achievement rates exceeding the expected average annual rates, (2) those with fixed carbon neutrality achievement rates below the expected average annual rates, and (3) those demonstrating no movement towards intermediate goals or a negative trend. The main methods used in this study included content analysis, checklist development, decomposition, critical and comparative analysis, and simple statistical methods.

Since 2015, two platforms for popular science lectures have been constantly operating in Apatity. The first one is supported by the head of the Apatity and based in the House of Culture named after V.K. Egorov. The second platform «The land where I live»is situatedin the city library named after L. A. Gladina. Since April 12, with the beginning of the quarantine, the both lecture platforms have moved into a ZOOM virtual format. In 2020 the Kola Science Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences has got an official YouTube channel. It was used for popular science lectures, in the course of which scientists would share results of research, analytical data, historical facts in a simple and informal language; 27 online lectures in total.

Концепция энергетического перехода, как стратегия полного замещения источников энергии, основанных на ископаемом топливе, стала основой для формирования политики в области энергетики многих стран и зафиксирована как в национальных, так и международных документах, таких как «Парижское соглашение» (2015) или «Стратегия социально-экономического развития России с низким уровнем выбросов парниковых газов до 2050 г.» (2019). В данной работе произведена попытка оценки оснований данного феномена как с точки зрения его происхождения, так и с точки зрения влияния на актуальную политику. Методологический разбор аспектов концепции энергетического перехода показывает, что под данным термином могут подразумеваться несколько не в полной мере связанных друг с другом концепций. Вопрос оценки концепции энергетического перехода критически важен для последовательного формирования региональных политик по модернизации региональных энергетических комплексов и подсистем электро-и теплоснабжения. Данный вопрос приобретает особую значимость в формировании энергетической политики арктических регионов в силу суровых климатических условий и сложности в поиске альтернативы ископаемому топливу, как основе для бесперебойной работы энергетических систем АЗРФ.

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