Dec

2014

COP 20 Event Reviews Russian Climate Policies, Progress and Prospects

Organized by the Russian Federation and Center for Environmental Innovation, the event titled 'Goals and Objectives of the Russian Climate Policy up to 2020 and Prospects for 2030' described the country's goals to: achieve low-carbon sustainable development; implement environmental management systems and ecologically effective technologies; and develop the recycling industry. The event convened on the sidelines of the Lima UNFCCC Climate Change Conference (COP20).

12 December 2014: Organized by the Russian Federation and Center for Environmental Innovation (CEI), the event titled 'Goals and Objectives of the Russian Climate Policy up to 2020 and Prospects for 2030' described the country's goals to: achieve low-carbon sustainable development; implement environmental management systems and ecologically effective technologies; and develop the recycling industry. The event convened on the sidelines of the Lima Climate Change Conference.

Noting his country's active involvement in the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol, Alexander Bedritsky, Russian Federation Special Envoy for Climate, focused on the energy sector, as the biggest contributor to anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, saying that one-third of all energy produced in the Russian Federation is currently from non-carbon sources. He reviewed policies to increase the share of renewable energy and biofuels and highlighted the absorption capacities of boreal forests.

Vladimir Maksimov, Unit for Ecology and Natural Resource Use, Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, underlined that the strategic target of Russian public policy is to ensure socio-economic development, providing for environmentally oriented growth and conservation of biodiversity and natural resources. Maksimov pointed out that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from automobiles increased by 2.5 times from 2001 to 2011 and continue growing by 30% annually. He warned that a goal to reduce the economy's energy intensity by 40% by 2020 will barely be achieved and that the objectives on renewables lag considerably in comparison to industrialized countries.

George Safonov, Center for Environmental and Natural Resource Economics, National Research University, highlighted dynamics of GHG emissions by sector in the Russian Federation and decarbonization pathways. Safonov summarized the main solutions, including: energy efficiency improvement; maximum decarbonization of electricity production; coal to gas transformation; increased use of renewables; and carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies.

Andrey Stetsenko, CEI and Moscow State University, noted that the country's forests sector is not only absorbing but also emitting. He presented projections of carbon dioxide net-sinks in Russian forests by 2050 and carbon sequestration efforts through afforestation. He stressed that the 2015 climate agreement should not discriminate between tropical and boreal forests.

In the ensuing discussion, participants addressed, inter alia: whether GHG emissions in the Russian Federation will reach a peak by 2030; the country's position in relation to the New York Declaration on Forests; and future extraction of existing fossil fuel reserves.

Date

12 December 2014

About

About persons

Georgy Safonov