Russia Faces Fossil Fuel Industry Opposition Over Law to Limit Emissions

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Russia is considering climate legislation that could give the worldโ€™s fifth largest emitter a framework for regulating carbon emissions for the firstย time.

Theย draft billย would give the government powers to introduce greenhouse gas emission targets for companies, and charges for those that exceed them, with proceeds potentially going into a fund to support carbon-cuttingย projects.

The legislation, which has been drawn up by the Ministry of Economic Development, is under consultation with other ministries and stakeholders and expected to be finalised inย June.

The framework includes different regulatory mechanisms, such as a cap and trade system of emissions permits and tax breaks for companies reducing or capturing theirย emissions.

Specific targets for particular sectors are not included. From the set of policy instruments presented, though, future governments would then be able to โ€œselect and apply, as requiredโ€, says Alexei Kokorin, director of the climate and energy programme at WWFย Russia.

The move has been welcomed by environmental NGOs which have long called for legally binding targets on greenhouse gas emissions inย Russia.

Vladimir Chuprov, from Greenpeace Russia, said the law, if passed, would set a โ€œnew legal norm for Russian legislative historyโ€, providing โ€œCO2 and other greenhouse gases with legal status.โ€ It โ€œputs the question of CO2 cuts on the table,โ€ he added, even if the โ€œtargets areย lowโ€.

The current draft is likely to face strong opposition from within the Russian parliament and industry. A source from the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), which presented an alternative, weaker piece of legislation in December, excluding quotas, emissions trading and charges for exceeding emissions targets, told the Russian newspaperย Kommersantย that it โ€œcould not supportโ€ the legislation โ€œin its presentย formโ€.

Russian environmentalists are divided over the chances of the climate legislation passing into law, with only the ministries of economy and environment said to be in favour of theย text.

Backed by the fossil fuel industry, the energy ministry,ย Chuprov said, opposes the current version of the law. โ€œThey are very scared that this law will damage the fossil fuel sector in Russia,โ€ he told CHN.

Kokorin said misinformation surrounding the Paris Agreement had encouraged the formation of a โ€œvery large oppositionโ€ from โ€œpeople closest to the president, among whom the Russian military andย intelligenceโ€.

Consultants, such as climate sceptics from the Russian Academy of Science, have deliberately sought to undermine the ratification of the Paris Agreement by suggesting that the deal could later be amended to impose targets on countries, or penalise countries not respecting their commitments, heย said.

Kokorin described the current version, which outlines penalties for CO2 emissions, as โ€œabsolutely unfeasibleโ€. โ€œBig business and oligarchs will fight against it. It will be weakened,โ€ Kokorin said. โ€œThey are smoothly pushing the goal of the ratification under theย carpet.โ€

Chuprov, however, said that he thought that the legislation had an โ€œ80-90% chanceโ€ of passing thisย summer.

The legislation steers clear of mentioning the Paris Agreement, which Russia is one of theย few countries yet to ratify. Last week, the presidentโ€™s special representative for environmental protection, ecology and transport Sergei Ivanov announced that the government wouldย only ratify the Paris Agreementonce a โ€œstocktakeโ€ of Russiaโ€™s forests and their capacity to absorb CO2, currently underway, had beenย completed.

The head of the Russian Federal Forestry Agency, Ivan Valentik, has said the inventory should be ready forย 2020.

The legislation comes amid efforts by president Vladimir Putin to modernise Russia for an era of greener international markets. A 2018 state report found up to 70% of Russiaโ€™s energy infrastructure, which includes nuclear and pipelines, was outdated. Under such conditions, the social and economic damage from accidents can be estimated at 600-700 billion rubles ($9.35-10.9bn) per year, threatening Russiaโ€™s economicย stability.

โ€œFor Putin, itโ€™s quite important because politicians understand that any accident like Chernobyl has a political impact,โ€ Chuprov said. โ€œThis is why Putin is trying to convince industry to invest more into the modernisation ofย Russia.โ€

A framework law on carbon markets and greenhouse gas emissions was the most straightforward way to โ€œmotivate oligarchs to invest more into low-carbon technology,โ€ according toย Chuprov.

This article was published in partnership with Climate Home News.

Image: Maxence/Flickr CC BYย 2.0

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