Russia in climate change drive

Russia in climate change drive

Russia in climate change drive

Smoke rises from chimneys of the gas boiler house as the temperature dropped to minus 10 degrees Celsius in Moscow, Russia on November 22, 2019. (EPA-EFE  File Photo)
 

 

Moscow, November 29 ( EFE-EPA): Russia, the fourth most contaminating country in the world with a heavy dependence on fossil fuels, is upping its efforts to bring down its emissions.



Russia ratified the Paris Agreement in September, the first global deal on climate, and it must now adopt the corresponding legislation.



The country, which only pollutes less than China, the United States and India, has a strong reliance on traditional energy sources.



Renewables only account for 0.2 percent of its energy supplies, according to Russia's Association for the Development of Renewable Energies.



With the new measures, this percentage could go up to 1 percent in 2024 and 4 percent in 2035, a source from the association told Efe.



Big companies in the fossil energy sector, the main source of wealth for Russia, "actively oppose any state attempt to regulate CO2 emissions," according to Vladimir Chuprov, head of Greenpeace's energy department in Russia.



According to Chuprov, Russia's ratification of the Paris Agreement sent a clear message to the world that it does not want to be outside the climate agenda, "despite the position of climate skeptics," who have support from the organs of power and the media.



But the authorities have not been quick to introduce energy policy changes.



"New subsidies and licenses for oil extraction are delivered, while financing security measures against forest fires leaves much to be desired," he said in reference to the devastating fires in Siberia in the summer.



The impact of climate change can be seen in Russia in different ways.



Winters are getting later and there are more floods and forest fires.



According to official statistics, Russia is heating up 2.5 times faster than the average for the rest of the world.



Between 1976-2016 alone the temperature rose 0.45 degrees each decade.



The hike poses a risk to the country's population and its economy, according to the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Rosguidromet).



"The challenge of global warming and the dangerous processes that it entails for economic infrastructures and the population are very serious," the service said.



"Fighting the threats of the changing climate is extremely difficult. Undervaluing or overvaluing the risks that arise is equally inadvisable."



Climate change could cost Russia between 1-2 percent of its annual GDP, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, which argues that global warming is having a major impact on its industry.



At the same time, agriculture is seeing a "positive effect" in a medium-term warming period, such as the "increase in land suitable for cultivation," which would partially compensate for losses in the sector due to climate change.



As politicians and experts try to agree on the magnitude of the consequences of climate change, young Russians take to the streets every week in a bid to raise awareness of the global emergency.



One of them is Arshak Makichyan, a 25-year-old Muscovite who participates in the "Fridays For Future" movement, triggered by Sweden's teen activist Greta Thunberg.



"Everything is in our hands and it doesn't matter that there's only a few of us now because we already have a movement that is expanding and we are not going to give up," Makichyan told Efe.



The activist does not have much confidence in the implementation of the Paris Agreement in Russia but believes the document's ratification is a positive step because it means climate problems are beginning to be addressed "as something real and not fictitious."



"No one can escape climate change, whether you are in Russia or another country. It is something that affects us all," said the activist, who will travel to Madrid to participate in the UN climate summit next week.