Bending with the wind: The economics of energy and sustainable development in Belarus

For some years now the Belarusian authorities have been making efforts to reduce the country's dependence on energy imports from Russia by means of energy-saving and decentralized forms of energy generation. Alternative and renewable sources of energy have played an important role. Thanks to these endeavours, Belarus is now the most energy-efficient state in the CIS. Even greater gains would be possible if state support for NGOs and private firms were to replace the current policy of relying largely on dirigiste methods. These are the actors with the greatest potential for innovation in the search for appropriate ways of using alternative and renewable forms of energy.