Events/Comments

Events/Comments

In the days of the UN Climate Change Conference in Marrakech (СОР22), a “Clean Energy” conference took place in St. Petersburg. It was dedicated to the issues of energy and sustainable development, balance of business interests and preservation of natural resources.

The conference , held by Russian Social Ecological Union/Friends of the Earth Russia, 1-3 of November, 2016, in St.Peteresburg, adopted the NGO Position to UN climate change conference COP22 in Marrakesh.

The Paris Agreement has overcome the 55% threshold and will come into force on November 4. The majority of leading countries have ratified the Agreement on greenhouse gas emissions. Russia, the fifth biggest emitter, stays on the sidelines. Representatives of public environmental organizations believe that the country has no compelling reasons to slow down the process.

According to meteorologists’ data, each of the past 2016 months has made its own temperature record. Such situation concerns academics and representatives of environmental public organizations who believe that climate changes not only provoke cataclysms but also are a fraught with hazardous incidents caused by permafrost thawing.

Plans for the Paris Climate Agreement implementation remain the subject of controversies in the Russian business community. One part of entrepreneurs sees the low-carbon plans as a threat to the economy. Businessmen who don’t share this position, experts, and NGO representatives find such opinion quite archaic and put forward proposals for the Strategy of low-carbon development.

The RF Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is currently working on the complex of measures for realization of the Paris Climate Agreement. One of the key events should be introduction of the carbon tax. Active discussions about this financial climate instrument keep going not only in Russia.

In March 2016 members of Bryansk NGO "Viola" prepared and carried out announcement of the All-Russian days of actions for climate protection within the international SPARE project. New Program " Climate Ambassadors" was presented to ecologists, members of non-governmental organizations, teachers, students within three days. Actions took place on the basis of educational institutions. Participants got advice on holding actions. Winners of SPARE competitions told about their experience. The new Program arouse a great interest.

More than 6 regions , 12 districts and cities, several universities and colleges, 35 schools, 600 kindergartens, schoolchildren and students took part in the All-Russian days of actions of "Climate Ambassadors" in Central Federal District of Russia.

The first meeting of the “Platform of BRICS Green Technologies” took place in St. Petersburg in the early April. Financing was one of the key topics of the meeting; however, Russia is not yet ready to receive investments for implementation of green technologies.

Moscow teachers got acquainted with the new program "Climate Ambassadors" at a meeting of the Association of Environmental Educators of Moscow. Schools have received information materials in the thematic mailing lists. Members of SPARE school projects made up the volunteers available and scientists were invited to the "climate messengers"program to become partners in the Program coordinated by The Phenological of Russian Geographical Society.

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