Hearings «Discussion of the Draft of the State Environmental Policy of the Russian Federation up to 2030»

    Results of the Institute for the preparation of expert materials «Modernization of Economy and Sustainable Development» (on request from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment) were presented at a hearing November 24, 2010 on the discussion of proposals for the Fundamentals of State Environmental Policy of the Russian Federation up to 2030 and expert materials were sent to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. These materials were also used during the hearings in the State Duma of the Federal Assembly.

Proposals Regarding the Draft of the Basics of the Russian Environmental Policy up to 2030, Prepared by the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources

    The urgency of the early development and implementation of the federal environmental policy raises no doubts. The key aspects of this policy must be the following: the substantiation of its fundamental importance and its links with the country’s developmental priorities, as well as the definition of the clear mechanisms of its implementation. To this end, we consider it advisable to voice the following fundamental remarks and proposals that should be taken into account during the preparation of the document:

    The document should not be of a declarative nature. Today we need a policy not as a declaration – plenty of declarations have already been made and presented in the Environmental Doctrine - but as a goal-oriented activity and a succession of steps based on the current real situation and with perspectives of desirable development in view.

    It is necessary to make this document topical and clear for decision makers, representatives of business, and the public. The proposed policy must solve urgent problems, including quality life assurance, long-term successful economic growth, and sustainable development. It must be related to and targeted at the current priorities in the country’s and global development, including technological advance and competitiveness; it should bring solutions in accordance with new economic and environmental challenges and ensure economic modernization and innovative development. A crucial area is the policy of double gain, which provides for economic and environmental efficiency.

    It is necessary to substantiate the importance of ensuring the evolved direction of the country’s development - from a raw-material economy to an innovative one, taking into account environmental requirements based on the efficient use of resources, energy efficiency, modernization, and the best practices of the state-of-the-art technologies available.

    The implementation of priorities of the environmental policy should be envisaged not so much as separate additional programs but as an organic part of the road for the country’s development, determining the essence of modernization and innovative development and the vector of strategies and programs of the country’s socioeconomic development.

    It is of fundamental importance to ensure the innovative nature both of the proposed policy and of the mechanisms of its implementation based on modern market mechanisms in the interests of sustainable development. This is primarily the wide use of the Kyoto Protocol instruments and the post-Kyoto process, extending them to all types of pollution, anthropogenic impacts, and natural resources.

    It is necessary to determine prospects for Russia’s development and positioning in the world as a country of the richest natural resources, an environmental donor of the planet, for the development of the market of environmental services both within the country and internationally, opening up wide political and financial opportunities for Russia. It is fundamentally important to ensure that the country’s development is based on the priority of the increased value of nature, its resources, and humans, their life and health.

    We should reflect the country’s opportunities to position itself as the leader in the global movement toward sustainable development together with the other BRIC countries by actively joining the Rio+20 process.