Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has urged an increase in the country's energy efficiency by 40 percent, Itar-Tass reported. “According to expert estimates, Russia can resolve this task even by means of existing technologies and close this gap,” he told a joint meeting of the commission on modernization and technical development and the president's council on science, technology and education on Wednesday. He stressed that the main thing is to move from words to deeds. “The situation with Russia's energy efficiency is depressing. Russia's energy intensity, the ratio of energy to GDP, exceeds that of industrialized countries many-fold, while heat losses are higher than 50 percent,” Medvedev said. The president reiterated that the State Duma would soon consider the law on higher energy efficiency and energy saving in the second reading. “It is necessary that the development of modern technologies was accompanied by reconsideration of norms and rules in the housing and public unities sector as well as in the constriction sphere,” he said adding that these norms should be drafted until December 1, 2009, for the law to enter into force in 2010.
