Climate Actions

In December, representatives of the states meet in Lima (Peru) at the UN Climate Conference - COP 20. The outcome of the event should be a draft of a comprehensive agreement to be signed in 2015. Representatives of public environmental organizations urge countries to work together to prepare an ambitious and meaningful new agreement.position NGO Lima COP

Environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) consider it necessary to adopt a strong global climate agreement in December 2015, as set out in the documents of the UN Convention on Climate Change. UN climate conference in 2014 in Lima, COP-20, shall make a practical step towards the conclusion of such an agreement.

Environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) consider it necessary to adopt a strong global climate agreement in December 2015, as set out in the documents of the UN Convention on Climate Change. UN climate conference in 2014 in Lima, COP-20, shall make a practical step towards the conclusion of such an agreement.

Three quarters of Russians believe climate change is a threat to human existence, and one third is absolutely sure of this, according to results of a public opinion poll by the Global Challenges Foundation in Stockholm. Representatives of non-governmental environmental organizations believe that the climate change comes out of the sphere of scientific discussion and becomes a pressing issue for residents of Russia.

Comparative efficiencies of different measures to combat climate change are unclear. The Economist has presented an assessment for effectiveness of various efforts to prevent emissions of greenhouse gases. The Russian Social Ecological Union believes that the key way to solve the problem of climate change is combining development of a variety of renewable energy sources and reduction of energy consumption due to energy conservation and efficiency.

Banks are one of the biggest sources of funds for promotion of energy efficiency programs. A substantial part of the activities in this direction can be carried out by energy service contracts - the potential of this market is at least 500 billion roubles a year. According to the Russian Social Ecological Union, the key condition for achieving the Government's objectives for energy efficiency is cooperation between the state, the public, businesses and banks.

Before Ban Ki-moon’s climate summit, which will take place in New York in September, four countries with developing economies that are Russia’s colleagues at BRICS claimed to be ahead of developed countries in fighting climate change.

The Ministry of Energy is discussing regulations that will make the conditions for renewable energy sources on the Russian market more comfortable. If amendments to the existing regulations are approved, way to the Russian market will be open for foreign manufacturers, for which requirements on facility localization are an obstacle. Non-government environmental organizations believe that supporting the energy alternative requires a flexible and balanced approach.

Economic sanctions are beginning to affect the Russian power sector. How much can the ‘energy isolation’ change the Russian energy strategy?