Abstract
Being one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases and having an enormous carbon storage capacity in its forests, Russia plays a significant role in addressing global climate change. Yet, for a long time, its domestic climate policy remained under-developed and lagged behind other countries. The presidential term of Dmitry Medvedev and his modernisation agenda brought about the necessary transformation. The Climate Doctrine adopted in 2009 acknowledges the anthropogenic nature of climate change, setting principles and goals for mitigation and adaptation policies. The adoption of the Doctrine coincided with the development of a comprehensive framework for energy efficiency and energy conservation which, if fully implemented, will lead to significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Adaptation policies should also be urgently formulated, as according to the Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring, climate change, alongside some benefits, will bring more droughts, floods and other extreme events as well as negative consequences for infrastructure, agriculture and other sectors of the economy.
A Russian proverb: Пока гром не грянет, мужик не перекрестится.
Yulia Yamineva holds a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Law, University of Eastern Finland. She followed the UNFCCC negotiations with the International Institute for Sustainable Development – Reporting Services in 2007–2009 and was a consultant based at the UNFCCC Secretariat in 2010–2011.23.1
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Notes
- 1.
Directive No. 1662-p of the Government of the Russian Federation. Concept for Long-Term Social and Economic Development of the Russian Federation up to 2020, 17 November 2008.
- 2.
Directive No. 861-рп of the President of the Russian Federation. Climate Doctrine of the Russian Federation, 17 December 2009.
- 3.
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, New York, 9 May 1992, in force 21 March 1994, 31 International Legal Materials (1992), 849.
- 4.
Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Kyoto, 10 December 1997, in force 16 February 2005, 37 International Legal Materials (1998), 22.
- 5.
UNFCCC, supra, note 3, Art. 4.8.
- 6.
Joanna Depledge, “Tracing the Origins of the Kyoto Protocol: an Article-by-Article Textual History”, UNFCCC Technical Paper, UN. Doc. FCCC/TP/2000/2, 25 November 2000.
- 7.
Anna Korppoo, Jacky Karas and Michael Grubb (eds), Russia and the Kyoto Protocol: Opportunities and Challenges (London: The Royal Institute of International Affairs, Brookings, 2006), at 7.
- 8.
See, for instance, Deutsche Welle, “Russia Will Join WTO and Sign Kyoto Protocol”, available at: http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,1209875,00.html (last accessed on 23 March 2012).
- 9.
Kirill Sukhotskiy, “Interview with Andrey Illarionov”, BBC Russia, 20 February 2004, available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/russian/russia/newsid_3507000/3507913.stm (last accessed on 6 March 2012). See also Gerg Walters, “Illarionov Makes His Case on Kyoto”, The Moscow Times, 18 December 2003, available at: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/illarionov-makes-his-case-on-kyoto/233950.html (last accessed on 23 February 2012).
- 10.
Izvestiya, “Kyoto Protocol Does Not Respond to Russian Interests”, 18 May 2004, available at: http://www.izvestia.ru/news/290059 (last accessed on 23 February 2012).
- 11.
Tatyana Avdeeva, “Russia and the Kyoto Protocol: Challenges Ahead”, 14 Review of European Community and International Environmental Law (2004), 293, at 293.
- 12.
Third National Communication of the Russian Federation to the UNFCCC, 2002, available at: http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/natc/rusncr3.pdf (last accessed on 23 February 2012), at 8.
- 13.
Second National Communication of the Russian Federation to the UNFCCC, 1998, available at: http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/natc/rusncr2.pdf (last accessed on 23 February 2012), at 11.
- 14.
See, for instance, the records of his meeting with scientists in Yakutiya, 23 August 2010, available at: http://premier.gov.ru/pda/visits/ru/11848/events/11882/ (last accessed on 23 March 2012).
- 15.
See, for instance, RIA Novosti, “Putin: Russia Intends to Implement Projects in the Arctic Not Harming the Environment”, 22 September 2011, available at: http://ria.ru/arctic_news/20110922/441898381.html (last accessed on 23 March 2012).
- 16.
Anna Korppoo, “Russia and the Post-2012 Climate Regime: Foreign Rather Than Environmental Policy”, Finnish Institute of International Affairs Briefing Paper No. 23, 24 November 2008, available at: http://www.upi-fiia.fi/assets/events/UPI_Briefing_Paper_23_2008.pdf (last accessed on 23 February 2012), at 8.
- 17.
Yuri Medvedev, “Climategate: Interview with Yuri Izrael”, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, 14 May 2010, available at: http://www.rg.ru/2010/05/14/izrael-nauka.html (last accessed on 23 February 2012). Author’s translation from Russian.
- 18.
Elana Wilson Rowe, “Who is to Blame? Agency, Causality, Responsibility and the Role of Experts in Russian Framings of Global Climate Change”, 61 Europe-Asia Studies (2009), 593, at 600–602.
- 19.
Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Strategic Forecast of Climate Change in the Russian Federation for the Period of 2010–2015 and Its Impacts on the Russian Economy”, 2005, available at: http://www.meteo.ru/publish/obzor/klim_r.pdf (last accessed on 23 March 2012).
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Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Assessment Report of Climate Change and Its Consequences in Russian Federation, General Summary”, 2008, available at: http://climate2008.igce.ru/v2008/pdf/resume_ob_eng.pdf (last accessed on 23 March 2012).
- 21.
Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Assessment of Macroeconomic Impacts of Climate Change in Russian Federation until 2030 and beyond”, 2011, available at: http://voeikovmgo.ru/download/publikacii/2011/Mokryk.pdf (last accessed on 23 March 2012).
- 22.
Vladimir Katsov, Valentin Meleshko and Sergey Chicherin, “Climate Change and National Security in the Russian Federation”, 1–2 Law and Security (2007), at 29. Author’s translation from Russian.
- 23.
Directive No. 730-p of the Government of the Russian Federation. Comprehensive Implementation Plan of the Climate Doctrine of the Russian Federation for the Period up to 2020, 25 April 2011.
- 24.
UNFCCC, “Greenhouse Gas Inventory Data from UNFCCC”, 2012, available at: http://unfccc.int/ghg_data/ghg_data_unfccc/items/4146.php (last accessed on 17 January 2012).
- 25.
It is assumed that emissions trends in other sectors of the economy will be similar. Fifth National Communication of the Russian Federation to the UNFCCC, 2010, available at: http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/natc/rus_nc5_resubmit.pdf (last accessed on 23 February 2012), at 92.
- 26.
Ibid., at 90–94.
- 27.
Directive No. 1662-p, supra, note 1.
- 28.
Ibid.
- 29.
World Bank, “Energy Efficiency in Russia: Untapped Reserves”, World Bank Working Paper, 2008, available at: www.ifc.org/ifcext/rsefp.nsf/AttachmentsByTitle/FINAL_EE_report_Engl.pdf/$FILE/Final_EE_report_engl.pdf (last accessed on 23 February 2012), at 6.
- 30.
Directive No. 2446-p of the Government of the Russian Federation. Energy Conservation and Increasing Energy Efficiency for the period up to 2020, State Programme of the Russian Federation, 27 December 2010.
- 31.
Directive No. 1715-p of the Government of the Russian Federation. Energy Strategy of Russia for the period up to 2030, 13 November 2009.
- 32.
Federal Law of the Russian Federation No. 261-ФЗ. Energy Conservation and Increasing of Energy Efficiency and Introducing Amendments to Specific Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation, 23 November 2009.
- 33.
Directive No. 1830-p of the Government of the Russian Federation. Action Plan for the Implementation of the Federal Law on Energy Conservation and Increasing of Energy Efficiency and on Introducing Amendments to Specific Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation, 1 December 2009.
- 34.
Directive No. 2446-p, supra, note 30.
- 35.
This figure excludes the contribution of large hydropower stations, which is around 18 % of total electricity generation. See Yuri Fedorov, Georgiy Safonov and Adil Bagirov, Low-Carbon Economy in Russia: Trends, Problems, Opportunities (Moscow: National Carbon Sequestration Foundation, 2009), at 16.
- 36.
Pavel Bezrukikh (ed), Reference Book on Renewable Energy Resources in Russia and Local Fuel Types (Moscow: Institute for Energy Strategy, 2007), at 67; Fedorov, Safonov and Bagirov, Low-Carbon Economy in Russia, supra, note 35, at 16.
- 37.
For example, the EU aims to derive 20 % of its energy from renewable sources by 2020 and China 15 % by 2020.
- 38.
Directive No. 1-p of the Government of the Russian Federation. Main Directions for the State Policy in the Area of Increasing Electrical Energy Efficiency on the Basis of the Use of Renewables for the Period up to 2020, 8 January 2009.
- 39.
Fedorov, Safonov and Bagirov, Low-Carbon Economy in Russia, supra, note 35, at 23.
- 40.
Dmitry Medvedev, “Address by the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev to COP 15”, 18 December 2009, available at: http://kremlin.ru/news/6384 (last accessed on 23 February 2012).
- 41.
Compilation of Economy-Wide Emission Reduction Targets to Be Implemented by Parties Included in Annex I to the Convention. Revised Note by the Secretariat, UN Doc. FCCC/SB/2011/INF.1/Rev.1, 7 June 2011.
- 42.
See, for instance, submission of the Russian Federation to UNFCCC contained in Additional Views on Which the Chair May Draw in Preparing Text to Facilitate Negotiations among Parties. Submissions from Parties. Addendum, UN Doc. FCCC/AWGLCA/2010/MISC.2/Add.1, 17 May 2010.
- 43.
Address by Alexander Bedritskiy to COP 17, 8 December 2011, available at: http://meteorf.ru/default_doc.aspx?RgmFolderID=a4e36ec1-c49d-461c-8b4f-167d20cb27d8&RgmDocID=0c47f6a9-671c-48f3-a69e-f67d7ddb0ac3 (last accessed on 23 March 2012).
- 44.
Sberbank, “Outcomes of the first round of tender to select joint implementation projects”, 23 July 2010, available at: http://www.sbrf.ru/tula/ru/about/concurs/archive/2010/index.php?id114=11006763 (last accessed on 23 March 2012).
- 45.
Alexey Shapovalov, “Interview with Vladimir Gavrilov”, Kommersant-Online, 20 July 2011, available at: http://www.kommersant.ru/doc-y/1682278 (last accessed on 23 March 2012).
- 46.
On Green Investment Schemes, see, for instance, Alexander Averchenkov, Economy and Climate: Russia’s Participation in Solving a Global Environmental Problem, (Moscow: Institute for Sustainable Development/Centre for Environmental Policy in Russia, 2009), at 33–51.
- 47.
Sberbank, “Presentation at the meeting of the Presidential Commission for Modernisation and Technology Development of the Russian Economy”, 27 June 2011, available at: http://i-russia.ru/sessions/25.html (last accessed on 23 March 2012).
- 48.
See, for instance, Ecolife, “Interview with Alexander Bedritsky”, 27 December 2011, available at: http://www.ecolife.ru/intervju/4380/ (last accessed on 23 March 2012). Given that to the date, Russia has not taken commitments for the second term of the Protocol, the issue of carryover of surplus AAUs becomes irrelevant unless Russia changes its position in the future.
- 49.
Averchenkov, Economy and Climate, supra, note 46, at 62.
- 50.
Roshydromet, Assessment Report of Climate Change and Its Consequences in Russian Federation, supra, note 20.
- 51.
Roshydromet, Assessment of Macroeconomic Impacts of Climate Change in Russian Federation until 2030 and beyond, supra, note 21.
- 52.
Ibid., at 9.
- 53.
Ibid., at 174.
- 54.
Ibid., at 9.
- 55.
Ibid., at 10.
- 56.
Ibid., at 176.
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Yamineva, Y. (2013). Climate Law and Policy in Russia: A Peasant Needs Thunder to Cross Himself and Wonder. In: Hollo, E., Kulovesi, K., Mehling, M. (eds) Climate Change and the Law. Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice, vol 21. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5440-9_23
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