Four years after the agreement was reached, Russia formally joined the climate agreement. As the world's fourth-largest emitter, Russia officially ratified the climate agreement, bringing an end to months of international tension on the issue. Ruslan Edelgeriev, the president's climate advisor, told the UN Climate Summit in New York before listing the country's climate contributions: "The Russian Federation has accepted the Paris Climate Agreement and become a formal participant in this international agreement." "Compared to the 1990 baseline, Russia has played a leading role in greenhouse gas reduction, and we have reduced our total emissions by nearly half during this period. That's equivalent to 41 billion tons of CO2 equivalent, or the global cumulative amount for a whole year." This baseline corresponds to the former Soviet Union and its industrial collapse, making it a relatively easy benchmark to demonstrate success. Edelgeriev stated, "Russia is making another huge contribution to combating CO2 and CO2 sequestration, although this contribution is not reflected, it is a key factor. That is Russia's northern forests." Although he had tried to get the resolution to Congress, months of lobbying from businesses and representatives swayed President Putin to bypass the cabinet and approve the agreement through a government agreement. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a government decree on the same day. The country's climate commitment is notoriously weak, described as "extremely inadequate" by climate action trackers. However, climate policy observers in the country welcomed the decision. Alexey Kokorin, director of climate issues for Russia at the World Wildlife Fund, said, "This is a very important signal for Russian society, regional governments, businesses, and NGOs. Russia has joined the global movement to recognize the importance of climate change and is not opposed to the anthropogenic impacts of climate change." "The Paris Agreement increases the opportunity to prevent a global climate catastrophe, but this opportunity must be used correctly, and most importantly, as soon as possible – there is no time for compromise and attempts to maintain the status quo of fossil fuels," said Vasily Yablokov, Greenpeace climate representative. "Russia's action on this issue is very important: our country has enormous potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions." This move comes after years of lobbying from European countries, including Germany, France, and the Nordic countries. In recent months, long-absent climate policies have been changing life in Russia. The government is reviewing a greenhouse gas emissions regulation and two national low-carbon development and adaptation programs. Russia's participation means that 11 countries have yet to ratify the Paris Agreement. Angola, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, South Sudan, Suriname, and Yemen. Source: Climate Home News (2019/09/23) Compiled by: PIDC
