During the climate conference in Paris, several influential financial organizations, along with heads of states and corporate CEOs made a public statement to support putting a price tag on carbon. However, the international community has mixed feelings about carbon trade.
April 26 marked 30 years since the Chernobyl NPS nuclear disaster. The events which had taken place in spring 1986 are listed in the world history as a major nuclear catastrophe. Despite the fact that the world community has acknowledged the dangers of nuclear energy, attempts to include NPSs in the list of possible ways for greenhouse gas emission reduction never stop. The nuclear power generation industry cannot help solving the problem: it only creates new ones, experts and representatives of public environmental organizations are sure.
Along with over 170 other countries, Russia signed the Paris Agreement – the new international climate agreement due to replace the Kyoto protocol – at a ceremony held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. This day will be remembered for the highest number of countries that signed an international agreement on day one.
In the course of the World Economic Forum in the end of January in Davos, establishment of the Global Commission on Business and Sustainable Development was announced. Companies which join the global events on the planet’s natural resources protection climate problems solving might get huge benefits and protect their long-term result rating, economists say. Climate-related business initiatives started to appear in Russia.
In the present year, carbon intensity of the internal regional product (IRP) should turn into one of the indexes of regional authority’s efficiency. Representatives of public environmental organizations welcome implementation of the data reporting on greenhouse gas emissions; however, they believe that the effectiveness would go higher if regions acquire financial incentives for realization of their plans besides the only moral support.
Scholars of the Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT, Finland) have developed a model for Russia and Central Asian countries which proves the possibility of implementing operation of energy systems at the account of renewable energy sources. By experts’ opinion, transfer of the region to 100% consumption of renewable energy by 2030 is an absolutely realistic goal.
Scientists from the South Ural State University developed a system that will allow Russia to cover Crimean energy demand by using wind power installations within the next 5 to 7 years.
Despite what skeptics used to say about the negative effect of cheaper oil on renewable energy development, last year’s investments into renewables broke the record by reaching US$ 329 billion. World energy trends should be taken into account when developing the Russian energy strategy, say Russian environmental NGOs.
The end of the public campaign coincided with the wrap-up of a five-year long implementation of the state program "Energy Saving and Energy Efficiency for the Period until 2020". The outcomes of the program are rather modest. Starting in 2015, state finances have been cut, while the main support is going to the coal industry. The forecasted amount of energy to be saved by means of the state program was comparable to total energy generated by the country’s largest power stations! Energy efficiency could have become an alternative to fossil fuels and the dangerous nuclear power, yet so far, its potential remains untapped. 
In 2014 and 2015, the all-Russia public organization “Social Ecological Union” (RSEU) has carried out surveys in Russian regions on the results of implementation of the RF Climate Doctrine. Letters with requests for providing information had been sent to all regions of Russia.