“Russia in the climate change regime: how are the State and the economic sector dealing with the current environmental crisis?”

Abstract

Environmental safety and energy security are deeply connected. In a context in which there is an increasing focus on achieving carbon neutrality, Russia must respond to new international regulations that are more and more demanding. The work presented to the commission is the outcome of a thesis research project conducted with the support of professors from Ca' Foscari university and teachers form the energy department of the European University of St. Petersburg. Firstly, the work focuses on the analysis of the implications of climate change and related energy transition for the Russian Federation. The second chapter provides an analysis of the environmental policy and strategies implemented by Russia in the context of the energy transition and the fight against climate change. It follows the evaluation of the responses of Russian businesses to all the new international climate standards: it is investigated whether companies are complying with new regulations, how can they improve their operations and what kind of projects they are implementing. The fourth and final chapter analyzes in detail the increasingly important role of forests in a context where the complete transition to renewable energy has not yet taken place. The research question tries to investigate what possible benefits can forests entail for the Russian Federation.