Russian govt drafts plan for national system to monitor climate-active substances

MOSCOW. Oct 4 (Interfax) - The Russian government has worked out a project for a national system to monitor climate-active substances, the press service of Deputy Prime Minister Viktoria Abramchenko, who is in charge of climate issues, said.

There are plans to allocate more than 8 billion rubles for the comprehensive monitoring project over the next three years under the strategic initiative "Low-carbon Development Policy," the press release said.

"We are continuing comprehensive work on adapting sectors of the economy to climate change. In the past 20 years Russia has reduced carbon intensity at faster rates, more quickly than the United States, China and Europe," Abramchenko was quoted as saying in the release.

"Today it is important to not only support this course, but also prevent the climate crisis from affecting the economy. Specifically, work on scientific research on climate change's influence on agriculture, industry and the housing and utilities sector, and continue measures aimed at combatting desertification and preventing and managing natural disasters. Research institutions will conduct more than 50 research and development studies for this purpose," Abramchenko said.

She said the climate agenda is politicized, foreign experts are often subjective and go by the data of "unfriendly" countries, so Russia must ensure information sovereignty on this issue.

The national monitoring system must ensure procurement of independent forecasts for the global climate and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as information about the reasons for climate change, objective data about the carbon-absorbing capacity of Russian ecosystems, and verified estimates of the cost effectiveness of various means of decarbonisation.