OREANDA-NEWS. Global ecologists have noted the changes in the attitude of the Russian president to the issues of global warming. If a couple of years ago, Vladimir Putin doubted the effectiveness of the transition to renewable energy sources, now he is prompting the government to seriously assess the scale of climate change and the attendant threats to the country's economy, writes Bloomberg.

The interlocutors of the publication disclosed information that the Kremlin has recognized climate problems and considers them one of the areas of cooperation with the United States and Europe. The steps taken by Russian politicians in the field of environmental protection cannot yet be considered too ambitious, but they are definitely important for the state, which is one of the world's largest producers of hydrocarbons.

According to Bloomberg, the Russian authorities are focusing on preparations for the climate summit in Glasgow (COP26 in November 2021) and are preparing to introduce new standards in calculating CO2 emissions, the involvement of forests in the country in the carbon dioxide absorption system. In addition, Russia is expected to offer proposals for the development of nuclear energy as an alternative to fossil fuel plants.

According to statistics, Russia is the fourth country in the world in terms of the volume of greenhouse gases, and about 90 percent of all energy in the country comes from sources with a high carbon content (the world average is 80 percent). Analysts estimate that the accelerated introduction of renewable energy will save the state up to $ 11 billion a year by the end of this decade.

“Russia is not trying to become the leader of the green agenda, but the country is rapidly adapting to the global process of transition to decarbonization,” said Irina Pominova, head of the Climate and Green Energy sector of the Center for Strategic Research (CSR).