This Post was submitted by Climate Scorecard Russia Country Manager Michael Oshchepkov
Even though Russia does not project an image of a country that is deeply concerned about climate change mitigation, there are a few cities which are actually worried about this problem. Of course, no other city in the country embodies these sentiments quite like its capital. Being the largest and central city in Russia, Moscow has traditionally been in the forefront of the best environmental initiatives, and some single elements of which are gradually being implemented into other Russian cities.
In 2019, during the III Climate Forum of Cities, the Moscow authorities signed the declaration “Green and Healthy Streets” with the C40 group of climate leaders. As part of this declaration, Moscow pledged to achieve “zero” greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 within the old borders of the capital.
Figure 1. The geographical boarders of the climate program implementation in Moscow
Source: the original map was taken from the Russian Internet resource 2GIS (free to use license)
As part of the declared target, the Moscow authorities intend to achieve the following tasks:
- Replace the entire fleet of buses with electric buses. – now in progress.
- Reduce the number of emissions from road surfaces with new efficient technologies. – now in progress.
- Create a comfortable urban environment. – now in progress.
- Reduce the number of heat and electricity sources used, such as coal and fuel oil – achieved.
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions to “zero” by 2030 – now in progress.
As part of the ongoing program, the Moscow authorities also plan to oblige developers to construct buildings using new energy-efficient technologies that will reduce the loss of thermal energy. It is also envisaged to green the central part of the city and reduce the number of industrial facilities that emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
According to regulations and established mechanisms, this program will be financed from the Moscow budget in the framework of the following state programs:
Figure 2. State budget programs of Moscow[1]
| State program | 2021 | 2022*
(planning period) |
2023*
(planning period) |
Total:
(forecast) |
| Development of the transport system | $8.3 bln | $9.2 bln | $9.8 bln | $27.3 bln |
| Development of municipal and engineering infrastructure and energy saving of the city | – | – | – | $3.8 bln |
| Urban development | $1.3 bln | $1.3 bln | $1.3 bln | $3.9 bln |
Source: the data are taken from the official city of Moscow
(URL: https://budget.mos.ru/budget/gp)
Unfortunately, the current budget of Moscow is approved only until 2023. The budget does not detail each of the city programs’ shares in commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The lack of such data makes it impossible to estimate the actual amount of funding for the climate program to achieve carbon neutrality in Moscow. In addition, the physical boundaries of the program are limited only by the central part of the Russian capital, where there are practically no industrial facilities. Also, the program does not imply any restrictions on the entry of commercial and passenger transport into the city using internal combustion engines – not now, not in the plans until 2030.
One of the strengths of the current program is that its success will be an example for other Russian cities, which, using the example of the capital, could begin implementing their own programs to reduce the impact on climate change.
The persons responsible for the implementation of the program are:
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobinin
Tel.: +7 (495) 777-77-77; +7 (495) 692-16-37; +7 (495) 957-04-44; +7 (495) 539-55-55.
Email : mayor@mos.ru
Vice-Mayor of Moscow Pyotr Biryukov
Tel.: +7 (495) 957-73-54
Email: mayor@mos.ru
[1] Converted from Russian ruble to the US dollars at the currency exchange rate as of 11th April, 2021