Putin spoke about the risks for Russia due to climate change

Russia feels risks from global environmental problems, as some Russian cities are built on permafrost, President Vladimir Putin said at the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. RBC is broadcasting on YouTube.

“We have often heard talk that Russia is not interested in solving global environmental problems. But I can tell right away – this is nonsense, this is a myth or even an outright distortion. Like other countries, we feel the risks and threats in this area, including desertification, soil erosion, melting permafrost” Putin said.

The President recalled that “entire cities” are located in the Arctic part of Russia, which is built on permafrost. According to him, if the ice begins to melt, the consequences may come for the country.

He pointed out that, according to scientists, more than 2 trillion tons of greenhouse gases have accumulated in the earth’s atmosphere due to human economic activity. Each year, their number increases to 50 billion tons, Putin said.

The head of state added that all countries bear joint responsibility for climate processes in the world. Putin also urged “not to turn the transition to carbon neutrality into an instrument of unfair competition, when, under the pretext of a carbon footprint, they try to reshape investment trade flows in purely specific interests, and restricting access to green technologies becomes a deterrent to individual countries and manufacturers.”

The head of state expressed confidence that environmental and climate projects in Russia will play a leading role in global efforts to preserve the climate for many decades.

“We have set a goal: in the next 30 years, the accumulated volume of net greenhouse gas emissions in Russia should be lower than in Europe,” Putin said.

He asked the government to develop a detailed action plan in this regard by October 1 of this year. The relevant issue will be raised at a separate meeting.

Among the projects that the authorities plan to work on:

• reduction of emissions in sectors of the economy due to the construction of nuclear, hydroelectric power plants and renewable energy sources;
• reduction of emissions from hydrocarbon production;
• modernization of thermal power engineering;
• electrification of gas transportation infrastructure;
• improving energy efficiency in the residential sector, heat supply systems;
• conversion of public transport to gas, electricity;
• reduction of material consumption in construction.

For all this, the state will issue subsidized green bonds. The authorities have also developed performance criteria for environmental projects.

One of the main tasks on which the country’s leadership will work, Putin also named capturing, storing, and using carbon dioxide from all sources.

In late April, Putin spoke at the climate summit. In his speech, he called for all interested countries to join in joint research in the field of climate change, as well as to actively develop low-carbon technologies.

According to him, over the past 31 years, Russia has reduced greenhouse gas emissions more than other countries – from 3.1 billion tons of CO2 equivalent to 1.6 billion tons, i.e. about twice.