The ongoing degradation of world’s forests is currently a second-largest reason for growing global greenhouse gas emissions. This destruction is being driven by increased demand for forestry products and poor law enforcement. So far the world has not come up with any effective mechanisms for reversing this trend. Existing international agreements and plans aimed at protecting forests have had little impact. The world is looking to market mechanisms to encourage businesses and other users of...
Developed countries’ transition to postindustrial society in the late 20th century entailed the reevaluation of the role different factors play in economic growth. Natural resources ceased to be regarded as a significant prerequisite for economic development, due to the emergence of service industries and the virtual economy. Furthermore, the idea that natural riches could even hinder economic development gained ground.
It is now becoming increasingly clear that the conclusions drawn about...
On April, 22 which is Earth Day established to draw the world’s attention to environmental protection, we asked our experts about one of the most urgent problems facing the modern world: how to deal with the increasing quantities of waste. Sigitas Rinkevičius, Head of the Waste Management Projects Department at COWI Lietuva, and Alexander Solovyaninov, Director of the Higher School of Economics’ Institute for Economics of Natural Resource Use and Environmental Policy, spoke about the...
Towards a functioning regulatory framework for renewable energy in Russia?
The promotion of renewable energy sources in the Russian Federation has been discussed at the highest political levels since the 1990s. Although good progress has been made towards the creation of a framework for developing renewable energy, important problems remain. In 2014, Russia is still without a functioning support scheme that could stimulate the large-scale deployment of clean energy sources. Various different laws...
Climate change has risen to the top of the international agenda and is a regular item under consideration at major international arenas including the UN, G8, and G20. Yet, available international instruments like the Kyoto Protocol have proved to be ineffective in substantially reducing global emissions and on-going negotiations on a new UN treaty have so far been protracted and yielded only modest results. Climate change thus serves as a textbook example of the
Tragedy of the Commons
where individual...
Interview with Alexander Shestakov (WWF)
Interview
Economic development in the Arctic has recently been in the global spotlight. We discussed plans for exploiting natural resources in the Arctic, and the potential impact that economic activities may have on the region’s environment, with Alexander Shestakov, Director of the Global Arctic Programme at the World Wildlife Fund
How would developing the Arctic’s natural resources impact its environment and biodiversity?
It depends on how...
How to preserve the Arctic’s fragile ecosystem?
Many states consider the Arctic a strategic region today due to its immense hydrocarbon reserves and an increasing role of the factors and conditions underpinning the political and energy security of the leading industrially-developed countries. Industrial development of the Arctic region entails an intensive exploitation of its mineral resources, transport development and biological resources production. Given a special vulnerability of the harsh...
Interview with Charles Emmerson, Chatham House Senior Research Fellow
Foreign opinion
An interview with Charles Emmerson on Arctic environmental issues. Mr. Emmerson examines the Arctic’s sensitive environment, its challenges, the role of international cooperation in preserving the Arctic environment, Russia’s environmental policy in the region and possible political risks.
Interviewee:
Charles Emmerson
, Chatham House Senior Research Fellow
Interviewer:
Maria Prosviryakova
, RIAC...
Russia should actively connect to the "greening" of the economy
The main hope in solving the most pressing environmental problems (and also resource problems) is imposed today on technological breakthroughs. In recent years, developed countries are reorienting their development strategies for the implementation of environmentally-oriented growth, one of the main components of which is "green" technology. Developing economies are becoming more and more involved in these processes...
