Photo by: JSC NovaWind
Last year Russia adopted several profile documents on the green economy. The first of these is the Strategy for Socio-Economic Development of Russia with Low Greenhouse Gas Emissions until 2050, which actually deals with the transition to a low-carbon economy. It is the first programme with such a long planning horizon in our country, if you compare it with other strategic documents. For example, Russia’s energy strategy is only valid until 2035.
Last year, Vnesheconombank prepared a green taxonomy, which is in fact a standard for green projects. This is a very important document for Russia, considering that the country inherited a difficult legacy from the Soviet Union in the form of old worn-out assets, and in green projects this problem is very acute. For example, in the petrochemical industry, some companies have pipelines with a physical deterioration rate of 50% to 80%, which creates risks of damage and leaks.
Another important direction is the concept of the best available technology, adopted on 1 January 2019. In fact, from that moment on, a technological revolution began in Russia that many people have not heard of. The two main criteria for such solutions are minimisation of environmental impact and affordability of implementation, allowing for replication. Russia has identified 300 of the “dirtiest” enterprises, which will be the first to benefit from the reform, and 51 handbooks describing the main parameters of the best available technologies have been created. There is a risk that the implementation of this concept will be delayed due to sanctions, but the important thing is that the overall vector is maintained, as it is one of the most important documents for the transition to a green economy.
Cover photo: Daniel Reinhardt / DPA
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