[ad_1]
President Vladimir Putin signed a decree ordering the Russian government to work towards complying with the 2015 Paris Agreement to combat climate change, but stressed that any action must be balanced with the need to ensure strong economic development.
Russia, the world’s fourth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has previously signaled its acceptance of the deal even as environmentalists have criticized Moscow for avoiding mandatory emissions targets for companies backed with fines.
In a decree published on Wednesday, a Russian holiday, Putin formally ordered the government to work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 as much as 30% below 1990 emission levels.
That, Putin said, would mean harnessing the ability of forests and other ecosystems to absorb those gases.
Putin’s order came with a great warning. He said that any action to reduce emissions must take into account the need to ensure constant and balanced socio-economic development, and ordered the government to develop and ratify a socio-economic strategy until 2050 that takes into account the reduction of emissions.
An earlier draft of such a strategy has drawn criticism from environmental groups for allowing emissions to increase before decreasing.
Climate change poses a serious challenge for Russia, whose economy is heavily dependent on oil and gas production, as well as mining. Part of that infrastructure is built on permafrost, which is vulnerable to rising temperatures.
Putin, who has questioned whether human activity is the sole driver of warming climate cycles, has presented himself as an advocate for the environment.
He has praised the Paris pact in the past, while saying it would require countries to modernize the industry, something that will likely cost big companies billions of dollars and incur job losses, an eventuality that he says, it must be properly planned.
