PLEA Network

23 September 2019, Climate Home News. Russia formally joins Paris climate agreement. *UPDATE: Russia deposited its instrument of ratification to the UN on Tuesday 15 October. The world’s fourth largest emitter, Russia, has formally adopted the Paris Agreement, drawing an end to months of national tensions on the subject. “The Russian Federation has accepted the Paris Agreement and is becoming a full-fledged participant of this international instrument,” Ruslan Edelgeriev, the president’s climate advisor, told the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York, before proceeding to list the country’s climate contributions. “Russia is already playing a leading role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions compared to the 1990 base-line,” he continued. “Our total emissions over this period have decreased almost by half. This represent 41 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent which on the planetary scale has allowed to cumulatively hold global warming for an entire year.” This baseline maps to the collapse of the Soviet Union and its vast industries, making it a relatively easy baseline for the country to promote past success. Read more here