Sergei Rachkov and Grigory Karasin moderated the session.
Grodno was the venue of the 9th Forum of Belarusian and Russian Regions, and its participants discussed bilateral cooperation amid conditions of a new international climate agenda.
Sergei Rachkov, Chair of the Permanent Commission on International Affairs and National Security at the Council of the Republic, and Grigory Karasin, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs, moderated the session.
Sergei Rachkov noted that climate change was one of the main problems that could be resolved by creating favourable conditions for the development and use of green technologies and a circular economy. At the same time, climate regulation should heed the interests of various countries’ development.
He said that Belarus and Russia were jointly involved in international environmental and nature conservation projects. It was also necessary, he indicated, to harmonise legal norms within the framework of the Union State and to draft a road map in this sphere. “The action plan should deal with economic sectors that are affected by climate change, and coordinated actions are essential.”
According to Sergei Rachkov, efforts to counter economic sanctions were another joint task.
Grigory Karasin noted that the international situation remained tense. “Western countries are conducting a well-coordinated policy of undermining the system of international relations that took shape after World War II. They are refusing to heed Russia’s position on security matters, they are recklessly expanding NATO to the east and are striving to ensure the military-political development of the post-Soviet space.”
In his opinion, the climate agenda could become another factor hampering and limiting the potential for our development on international markets at a time when generally recognised norms of international law are being violated on an unprecedented scale, and when an all-out attack has been launched against Russia and Belarus. “For this reason, it would be a serious mistake to ignore the climate agenda,” the Russian MP added.
Grigory Karasin emphasised that Russia and Belarus should display maximum possible initiative at international venues, and that they should coordinate their actions there, including efforts to expand expert interaction at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The Senator believes that it is necessary to choose a proactive strategy that will allow Russia and Belarus to independently choose various options to achieve goals aimed at reducing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, while preserving their economies, strengthening their capabilities and heeding the interests of their citizens. “In this event, we will have to draft our own work plan and set forth our own perception of a global climate agenda.”
The participants reviewed ways of merging Belarusian and Russian national strategies in the field of environmental protection and socioeconomic development amid a new climate agenda and in the context of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. They discussed Russia’s energy policy and various cooperation aspects within the Union State, measures to implement the Paris Agreement to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change by Belarus and Russia, as well as efforts to mitigate the consequences of climate change and to adapt to them.
They touched upon such subjects such as the harmonisation of approaches in addressing nature conservation and climate issues in order to ensure the sustainable development of Belarus and Russia, as well as integration efforts to create and use green technologies and to develop and use green projects criteria.
Following the meeting, the participants signed a number of cooperation documents and passed a statement on the negative impact of sanctions on the international climate agenda.
The statement notes that sanction restrictions virtually annul the international community’s successes in the nature conservation sphere and virtually roll the situation back by several decades. “These steps thwart the global energy transition and also hamper sustainable development.” The statement urges all states to intensify international cooperation, to pool their efforts at multilateral nature conservation venues and not to create illegitimate leverage in order to influence political opponents.
Taking part in the discussion were: Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus Andrei Khudyk, Russian Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sergei Anopriyenko,Deputy Minister of Energy of the Republic of Belarus Olga Prudnikova, Deputy Head of the Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring Vladimir Sokolov, First Deputy Minister of Forestry of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Dragun, Deputy Head of the Russian Federal Agency for Forestry Alexander Panfilov, Deputy Minister of the Economy of the Republic of Belarus Tatyana Brantsevich, Russian Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dmitry Volvach, and Russian Foreign Ministry’s special representative for issues of the Russia-Belarus Union State Viktor Sorokin.