RSEU documents on climat

We, representatives of non-governmental organizations, express our concerns about the situation in the field of environmental and energy safety in the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, which is an important process of integration in the Eurasian space.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) note the importance of the documents on climate change adopted by Russia, including the Presidential Decree on reducing greenhouse gases emissions, the Climate Doctrine of the Russian Federation and the Comprehensive Plan for Implementation of the Climate Doctrine of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2020, as well as governmental decisions to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy intensity of the Russian economy.

Resolution on the Climate and Energy of the Socio-Ecological Union 6th all-Russia Conference on “Public Support to Energy Efficiency and Development of the Civil Dialogue on the Issues of Climate Change and Sustainable Energy”

22nd-23rd of August, 2013, the 6th annual climate/energy conference of Russian Socio-Ecological Union took place in Pushkin town near St.Petersburg. In the conference “NGO Support of Energy Efficiency and Promotion of Civil Dialogue on the Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Issue” 54 NGO representatives from 32 Russian regions took part. The Conference has approved a Resolution on Climate and Energy.

Conference participants consider it important to note that the constitutional right of Russian citizens for healthy environment is the basis of legal and regulatory state actions for environmental protection, and environmental security is an integral part of national security as stipulated by the Federal Law "On Environmental Protection".

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) note the importance of the regulations adopted in Russia in recent years, such as the Federal Law "On energy saving and energy efficiency" and the Russian State Program "Energy saving and energy efficiency by 2020," Energy Strategy of Russia for the period up to 2030, the Climate Doctrine of the Russian Federation and the Comprehensive Plan for Implementation of the Climate Doctrine of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2020.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) note the importance of the documents on climate change adopted by Russia, including the Climate Doctrine of the Russian Federation and the Comprehensive Plan for Implementation of the Climate Doctrine of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2020, as well as governmental decisions to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy intensity of the Russian economy.

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) note the importance of regulations adopted in Russia in recent years, such as the Federal Law "On Energy Saving and Energy Efficiency," Energy Strategy of Russia up to 2030, and the Climate Doctrine of the Russian Federation.

We, representatives of public organizations from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, are concerned by slowing down the process of international negotiations on climate change. We believe it is important to take all necessary political, economic and other measures to prevent further negative anthropogenic influence on climate and to use every opportunity to hold global temperature increase within 1.5 degrees Celsius as compared to the pre-industrial period.

We are seriously concerned with the poor outcome of the international negotiations toward a new comprehensive agreement on the issues of climate change, which should replace the Kyoto Protocol after 2012. The Accord developed in Copenhagen has never turned into a UN Decision. Voluntary proposals of various countries on reduction of their greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 2020 as a whole, and, in particular Russia’s plans of 15-25% level below 1990 by 2020 are absolutely insufficient to stop growth of global emissions and reach the goal of 50% reduction required for the middle of the century.

On 14 December, representatives of Russian NGOs – observers to the UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen, handed the Open Letter to Alexander Bedritsky, Advisor to the President of Russian Federation on issues of climate change. In the Letter, the NGOs call for continuation of the talks under the working group on the Kyoto Protocol, to officially announce the inappropriate character of transfer of unused quotas from the Kyoto period to future periods, and not to consider nuclear energy as a renewable energy source and as a technology that could contribute to climate change mitigation.