Putin Will Send Bold Climate Proposal To Glascow To . . . Improve Measurements Of CO2 Output
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After years of publicly dismissing climate change, President Vladimir Putin is finally prodding officials to take the threat it poses to Russia’s economy more seriously. The shift in thinking means the Kremlin is likely to come to the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow in November with proposals to synchronize its efforts to measure carbon emissions with those in Europe, according to four people familiar with the plans. While the moves hardly amount to the kind of ambitious new emissions-reduction target for Russia that western capitals were hoping for, it’s a significant step for Putin as the leader of one of the world’s largest hydrocarbon producers, who until recently belittled climate issues.
Officials say the new approach is being driven by a belated realization the European Union, Russia’s largest trading partner, is serious about implementing carbon border regulations that will likely compel Russian companies to pay for excess emissions in key industries. The Kremlin also sees climate issues as among the few areas of possible cooperation with the U.S. and Europe after years of worsening relations.
Russia’s delegation at the summit will focus on topics including standards for calculating CO2 emissions and the absorption capacity of its enormous forests, as well as a proposal to rate nuclear power as “green” energy for carbon accounting purposes, two of the people said.
As the fourth largest greenhouse-gas polluter, Russia dumps about 5% of all carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year. Nearly 90% of all energy Russia consumes comes from carbon-heavy sources, above the global average of about 80%, and an accelerated deployment of renewables could save the country as much as $11 billion a year by 2030.
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https://climatecrocks.com/2021/10/06/putin-pushed-to-pivot-on-climate/#more-68673
