14 DAY TRIAL // In late April, the Russian Federation surprised everyone by accepting the fact that humans were, in fact, responsible for global warming, and recognizing that it had to do something to prevent any further degradation of the environment. While many consider the decision a radical shift in view from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, this nevertheless doesn't change the good news. Outlined more like a principle statement, the new doctrine also mentions some of the actions that the largest country in the world could undertake in order to address the pressing issues.
“Russia's diplomatic approach to Copenhagen was until now just one big silence. This is a totally surprising move. There were no hearings, no stakeholder discussion, no public debate – just nothing,” Kristin Jorgensen said of the recent decisions. She runs the Russian policy group, a part of the Oslo-based Environmental watchdog Bellona, Nature News reports. Until now, experts in Russia have advised the government to remain skeptical about what they've termed the “suspicious” scientific basis of global warming, and about the predictions based on them as well. However, the new doctrine is a 180-degree turn on the part of the Russians, who left many perplexed.
“The absence of an economic adaptation system to climate change leads to decrease of Gross Domestic Product by 2–5%. It is absolutely obvious that development of measures for adapting our country's economy to climate changes must involve every Ministry and Department,” Russia Minister for Environmental Resources Yuri Turtnev told on April 23rd, during a presentation for the Russian cabinet. He added that, at the moment, the country lost about 60 billion roubles (US$1.91 billion) every year in damages to floods, droughts and storms, and that the situation might grow a lot worse if the government continued to refuse to take any type of action.
According to Russian sources, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin decided to order the creation of a national plan, outlining the possible directions of development for the nation in the long run. He added that energy efficiency should be a priority, but did not promise any substantial cuts, or give any time frame for when the measures might be implemented. However, Russian bureaucracy is a real power in the state, and the initiative may suffer the same faith as others, when it gets tangled up between various agencies and groups.