Russia to focus on mutual recognition of climate standards with China, India

VLADIVOSTOK. Sept 7 (Interfax) - Russia is continuing to participate in international talks on the climate agenda and will focus on cooperation with friendly countries, Russian Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dmitry Vakhrukov said.

"We are continuing to participate in negotiations on the elaboration of international rules for the carbon market within the framework of the Paris Agreement. We will carry on talks on the climate track in Sharm el-Sheikh in November, at the International Conference on Climate Change," Vakhrukov said at the Eastern Economic Forum.

"We are continuing to defend our stance, first of all, so that the mechanisms of the Paris Agreement are universal and cross-border in nature and allow the use of national infrastructure in international operations. This is probably the main guarantee of foreign investment, this is what everyone is talking about - mutual recognition, common standards," he said.

"First and foremost, we will focus on the provision of this mutual recognition with friendly countries, namely, China and India, in order to implement climate projects together and draw foreign investments in our economy," Vakhrukov said.

"We will probably pursue the path of intergovernmental agreements, being aware that this is rather hard to do within the B2B framework," he said.

"On the whole, we are open to all foreign partners; there are no private standards or discussions, and we are committed to the policy of openness on the climate track," Vakhrukov said. Compared to the high pace achieved in this area over the past couple of years, progress will be made at a slightly different pace on the current track, but the priorities remain unchanged, he said.