RUSSIA

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RUSSIA

• Climate Change Policy
• Whitney Jones

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BackgroundFrom CIA World Fact Book

• Russia is the worlds largest nation in terms of
  land area.
• Due to the cold and arid climate much of the land
  is unfavorable for living or farming and out of
  the way of common trade paths.
• Russia has been an independent since the
  dispersal of the USSR in 1991 and is currently
  struggling to work past the effects left from
  years of communist rule towards a democratic
  political system (with judicial, executive and
  legislative branches using checks and balances)
  and a market economy.

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BackgroundFrom CIA World Fact Book

• 17,075,200 square miles (about 1.8 times the
  size of the USA)
• Has a population of 143,782,338 people as of
  2004
• Population growth rate of -.45
• 2003 GDP of 1.282 trillion and 8,900 per capita
  GDP, 6.5 growth rate since 1998
• 5 agriculture
• 35 industry (mining of coal, oil, gas and
  metals, equipment production, and chemical
  production)
• 60 services
• Exports have grown since economic crisis of 1998,
  80 are composed of oil, natural gas, timber, and
  metals.

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Background Continued

• Oil Consumption (2001) 2.595 million bbl/day
• Oil production (2001) 7.286 million bbl/day
• Yields 2.4 billion tons of CO2 1990
• Electricity Consumption (2001) 773 billion
  kWh/yr
• Electricity production (2003) 915 kWh/yr
• 17.4 of world CO2 emissions

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Emissions

• Between 1990 and 1994
• CO2 down 30
• CH4 down 26
• N2O down 43
• Energy production causes 98 of CO2 Emissions
• Of CO2 emissions 45 are from Natural gas, 31
  from coal, and 24 from oil
• There has been a drop was a drop in economic
  activity after 1990
• Due to large forest coverage, relies heavily on
  sinks (up to one quarter of emissions)

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Climate Change and Government

• 1998 the State Committee for the Protection of
  Nature
• 1992 Ministry of Environmental Protection and
  Natural Resources
• Agencies in each of the 89 sub-national
  jurisdictions
• 1994 Interagency Commission of the Russian
  Federation on Climate Change (ICC)
• Releases National Communications
• Composed of representatives from economic and
  environmental government agencies
• Is currently rather weak
• Monitoring done by Ministry of Environmental
  Protection and Hydromet (the Federal Service on
  Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring)
• Duma has little influence in environmental affairs

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National Communications

• Available only in Russian
• National Communication 1(1997)
• Research programs to meet needs of climate change
• Change energy structure towards renewable sources
• Criticized by UNFCCC for lack of urgency
• National Communication2 (1998)
• Similar vague strategies with low funding
• Similar criticism
• Russia claimed to be an Economy in Transition
• National Communication 3 (2002)
• Updated information on emissions and sinks

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PROBLEMS

• Government lacks strong central policy making
  body
• NGOs are weak
• Policies are not connected to the majority of
  people
• Industry is favored (especially energy production
  industry)
• Large economic benefits from Oil exports,
  pressure to comply with competitor OPECs views
  on climate policy

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Policies

• 1993 Energy Strategies of Russia highlighted
  reducing CO2 emissions in all economic sectors
• 1996 Russian government adopted Federal Climate
  Program on Prevention of Dangerous Climate Change
  and Their Negative Consequences
• Establishes monitoring systems of emissions of
  GHG, adaptation measures, and regulation
  measures.
• 1997-2000 only 40million were allocated to
  climate change program
• 28 million in the federal budget
• Budget does not allow for much influence in IPCC
• Policies ride on the notion that there will be
  some sort of technology developed to help solve
  the problem of GHG emissions

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International Co-operation

• Holds a generally skeptical point of view,
  however much of Russia is at significant risk
• Signed the UNFCCC in 1992 listed as a nation in
  transition
• Berlin 1995- was not progressive, asked for
  assistance thru JI, thought regulation was more
  effective than voluntary co-operation of industry
• Geneva 1996- maintains skeptical point of view,
  cant come up with solid national plan for
  reductions

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Continued

• Kyoto 1997- maintained skeptical position however
  took a slightly more active role
• Favored emissions trading (which was a topic of
  dispute), played a role in the Umbrella Group.
• Favored the three-gas basket (CO2, N2O, CH4)
• Wanted highly flexible regulations for nations in
  transitions
• Bonn 1998- Joined with umbrella group to
  outline emissions trading and fought to ignore
  the hot-air problem
• Through 2003 Russia was very hesitant to support
  Kyoto Protocol because of the impacts it could
  cause on economic growth
• Russia (Putin) signs Kyoto Protocol Nov. 2004 in
  return for EUs support of Russia joining the WTO

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Future

• Due much to the economic break down after the
  collapse of the USSR it is estimated that
  2008-2012 emissions will be lower than the 1990
  levels (this depends on the level of growth)
• Russia has the potential to be a major supplier
  in ET
• Will require rigid national monitoring policies,
  establishment of a national registry, and reports
  to be made using international reporting
  standards by 2007
• Stands to gain a lot though JI and CDM

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Sources

• Cia World Fact Book
• Arild, Tangen. The Kyoto Mechanisms and Russian
  Climate Politics
• www. Russiansaboard.com
• www. Enviroleteracy.org
• www.oecd.org