Publications on environmental and climate protection in Germany and Eastern Europe

The head of the Russian-German Environmental Information Office Angelina Davydova reports on the trends of the World Economic Forum in Davos: Prior to the forum, the World Economic Forum analysts published the results of the annual survey on the assessment of global risks. Around 1,000 experts and executives participated in the survey. Of all threats, they consider the environmental risks associated with climate change (extreme weather and natural disasters) most likely. These risks are ranked 2nd and 3rd in the top 10 potential threats. In 2017, extreme weather conditions cost about $ 330 billion. As the World Resources Institute notes, financiers are paying more attention than ever to "physical" risks: Environmental threats can lead to lost production and supply chain outages and energy supply defaults. In Davos there were presented PwC and WEF studies on the possibilities of using artificial intelligence to solve environmental problems. They focus on "intelligent" systems for transporting and storing food, optimizing energy consumption.

• Great prospects for wind energy in Ukraine: Ukraine was described as a potential leader in the field of renewable energy sources in an interview with Peter O'Brien, head of Eurocape New Energy Ukraine. He stressed the following: 1) Ukraine has an excellent energy source, namely the wind energy; 2) In 20 years, the wind turbines will be located throughout the country - from the border with Russia to Moldova.
• In Davos president Poroshenko discussed the roadmap for a possible entry of Ukraine into the European Energy Union. During the International Economic Forum Petro Poroshenko met with Maroš Šefčovič, EU Commissioner for the Energy Union. During the meeting, among other things, was discussed the EU readiness to spend 100 million euros on improving the Ukrainian Energy Efficiency Foundation. Furthermore, both sides discussed the further path of integration of Ukraine's energy market into the EU energy market and possible steps towards Ukraine's accession to the EU's Energy Union. The President emphasized that Ukraine is willing to continue to reform the energy sector in accordance with the obligations under the Energy Charter Treaty and the Association Agreement. President Poroshenko personally thanked the EU and the European Commissioner for support for energy reforms in Ukraine and strengthening energy independence.
• Yale University has published its annual edition of the Environmental Performance Index (EPI). According to this index, which examines the environmental performance of 180 countries, Ukraine is in 109th place, Russia 52nd and Belarus 44th out of 180. The worst indicators are linked to air quality and air pollution (places 105 and 122), biodiversity (place 140), and climate policy and energy (place 143). In Russia, where 2017 was the year of the environment, the worst indicators are in biodiversity (rank 114), fisheries (rank 130) and afforestation (rank 96). In neighboring Belarus, biodiversity ranks 44th, agriculture 101st and afforestation 88th.

• Interview with Alexandr Karpov, Director of the EKOM Center of Expertise, on Citizen Participation and Activism as an Important Issue in Sustainable Urban Development. Link

• Citizens' massive protests against the introduction of big waste incineration plants in Russia. Russians want to collect separately and recycle effectively, while large state corporations lobby combustion of solid domestic waste as the solution of the landfills problem. Over a 100 thousand signatures have been taken by the local residents of Moscow region and the city of Kazan ', the capital of Tatarstan republic, and they are being ignored by the Federal television. Details.

The Government Council for Environmental Affairs of the Russian Federation has adopted political measures to reduce pollutant emissions and improve waste management. Federation entities and companies are called upon to conduct pollution monitoring in the future. In addition, industrial companies should use the best available, environmentally sound technologies. By 2018, waste separation systems should be introduced all over Russia. Concrete regulations and programs for the mentioned measures will be elaborated. However, experts are already criticizing that the instruments in question are too ambitious and far from adequate. It would provide insufficient economic stimulation, which would be necessary for an environmentally and climate-friendly development in Russia. The biggest environmental challenges in the Russian Federation include air and water pollution, poor waste management and pressures on forests and biodiversity. Report by Angelina Davydova: http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/3182722