RSEU Position on Climate and Energy

A Civil Society Manifesto for the Support of Real Climate Solutions

Environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) consider it necessary to adopt a strong global climate agreement in December 2015, as set out in the documents of the UN Convention on Climate Change. UN climate conference in 2014 in Lima, COP-20, shall make a practical step towards the conclusion of such an agreement.

NGO believe that it is possible Cancun will result in a ‘balanced package’ that will have sufficient progress across each area, a clear work-plan in substantive areas, an overall pathway forward on KP and LCA (to COP-17/CMP7, Durban, and COP18/CMP8), and some modest clarity on legal form.

Read more....

20 of July in New-York Russia together with China opposed a Statement of the UN Security Council (http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2011/sc10332.doc.htm) on the security threat of climate change. Russian representative V.Churkin also said that Russia will move to low-carbon economy with attention to nuclear energy.
This confusing position in the concurrent SC debate shed a light on the lack of a clear line on the climate issue in the Russian Government, and nuclear energy threatens the global security,

Nuclear accident in Japan is a world tragedy and a signal to revise plans for development of nuclear energy in Russia and other countries. Events in Fukushima visually confirm the assertions of critics of "peaceful atom" that the danger level of nuclear power is too great to consider it as a reasonable way to generate energy. The Russian Social Ecological Union signed a letter to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev with the proposal to radically revise the policy in the nuclear industry. The letter requests the audit of security measures of operating Russian nuclear power plants and the development of plans for early decommissioning of obsolete nuclear power plants. The letter draws particular attention to feasibility of refusing to build new nuclear power plants and shifting resources to development of renewable energy sources.

Adopted on November 11, 2008 at the RSEU Conference on "Public participation in the development of the national politics in the area of climate and energy."

These proposals by Russian Social Ecological Union (RSEU) are caused by the concern about the acceleration and the irreversibility of climatic changes, which may lead to catastrophic impact on the economy and population both in Russia and the whole world, if no necessary measures to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions are taken.

We, representatives of environmental NGOs – participants of the Conference “Russian Green Movement and Environmental Challenges” (Dubrovskiy, Moscow region, 21-22 March, 2009), noting that according to the reports by IPCC and Rosgidromet, climate changes are fast and will bring catastrophic damage to economics and population both of Russia and of the world, if necessary measures to reduce GHG emissions are not taken

Adopted on November 11, 2008 at the all-Russian RSEU Conference on “Public participation in the development of the national politics in the area of climate and energy.”