Possibility of Ratification by 2018: Low
The intention of the Russian Federation to ratify the Paris Agreement has been announced at official meetings and in interviews, by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Khloponin and the President’s special representative for the climate, Mr Alexander Bedritsky.
Fighting climate change is high on the national agenda and supported at the government level. At the moment there is no evidences of any significant political opposition, though there are several discussions among scientists about the various approaches to calculations of the carbon footprint, forest capacities, economic efficiency of implementation measures etc.
For Russia, the adoption of the Paris Agreement would require, according to the Russian legislation, a federal law ratifying the Paris Agreement, approved by the legislative bodies and signed into force by the President. The ratification procedure includes the following steps:
– Preparation of the Draft Federal Law on Ratification of Paris Agreement;
– Consideration of the Draft Law by the Government of the RF;
– Consideration of the Draft Law by State Duma of the RF (3 readings);
– Approval by the Federal Council of the RF;
– Signing by the President of the RF.
On the basis of experience with Kyoto Protocol and its implementation, the Government of the RF took a decision to start with identification of the practical ways for implementing the Paris Agreement and undertaking the required steps for preparing the country for ratification of the Paris Agreement , followed by the ratification itself.
By the end of May 2016, the Ministry for Natural Resources and Environment developed the final draft of Plan for Ratification of the Paris Climate Agreement which is agreed with all interested authorities and now awaits official government approval. This Plan includes the following steps required for the ratification preparation:
– The identification of the solutions for implementation of the Paris Agreement and responsible authorities for managing the implementation process,
– Adaptation of national legislation with the relevant normative documents,
– Development of tools for carbon emission accounting,
– Development of an approach for state regulation of carbon emissions,
– Preparation of a long-term Strategy for Low Carbon Development (for the period until 2050),
– Development of a National Climate Adaptation Plan and many other relevant steps.
The completion of most of the actions from the Plan for Ratification of the Paris Agreement needs to happen before the ratification of the Paris Agreement can take place. Preparation of the Draft Federal Law on Ratification of Paris Agreement is aimed at Dec 2019 with potential final approval of the Paris Agreement in 2020. The RF Plan for Ratification of Paris Climate Agreement covers the period from the current 2016 until 2020. The final timetable for ratification will be available when the Government approves the Plan for Ratification that the Ministry for Natural Resources and Environment has developed.
Submitted by Climate Scorecard Country Manager Elena Zaika
Learn more:
“Minister thanks Russia for climate actions, during visit” – the officials confirm the Russia’s intention to ratify the Paris Agreement:
http://www.ambafrance-uk.org/Minister-thanks-Russia-for-climate-actions-during-visit
“The Paris Agreement – Russia’s Perspective” describes the main directions for carbon reduction measures:
https://www.expertguides.com/articles/the-paris-agreement-russias-perspective/arbwexhj
“How Russia plans to move forward with the Paris Climate Agreement”. This article describes the existing status of carbon emissions reduction initiatives in the perception of Paris Climate Agreement in the society, business and among the politicians:
http://www.russia-direct.org/opinion/how-russia-plans-move-forward-paris-climate-agreement