MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Andrei Fedyashin) - Russia still knows how to surprise the world. This was true long ago and is still true today.
At the Stockholm summit between Russia and the European Union on November 18, Russia promised European officials that it could reduce CO2 emissions by 20-25%, but only by the year 2020 and compared with 1990 levels. This may seem insignificant if one does not know that Russia previously promised to do the same thing, but only by 10-15%.
This promise was made only two weeks before the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, which will be attended by 192 countries. What does it mean?
Let us recall that way back in the 1990s, Russia's industry was on the verge of total collapse. At the time, we could fulfill any emission reduction plans, and we promised to do so by signing the Kyoto Protocol. Reducing emissions at the time was not difficult.
And now a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, which runs out in 2012, must be found in Copenhagen.
But if we make such promises today, it means that either Russian industry is not at the level reported at the weekly meetings of the Ministries of Industry and Economic Development, or we do not understand the most basic laws of economic development very well. Our economy has become so energy-intensive that slashing emissions by a quarter will not only be very difficult but absolutely impossible. Or is our economy, on the other hand, so perfect that we can reduce emissions without negatively affecting its development?
China, for example, still refuses to make commitments to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Up until recently, Chinese leaders have not even pronounced the words "carbon dioxide" and "reduction of industrial emissions" out loud.
According to the predictions of Chinese economists, the share of "mineral energy" in the country's overall energy balance will not fall below 70% in the next 10 to 20 years. But for such a large country, 10% is a considerable achievement.
It would be good to compare those figures with the Russian ones.
Incidentally, not many people know that currently China is not just one of the top polluters of the planet's respiratory system, but it is also leading the way in the search for alternative energy sources and technological solutions to clean up its coal power plants.
Russia cannot boast anything like that.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.
