Russia is ready for a meaningful dialogue with the European Union on carbon regulation, hoping that European colleagues will not violate WTO rules and other international agreements, including those on climate, Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said on Wednesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th July, 2021) Russia is ready for a meaningful dialogue with the European Union on carbon regulation, hoping that European colleagues will not violate WTO rules and other international agreements, including those on climate, Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, the European Commission published a draft cross-border carbon regulation, which it has been developing for over a year. Prevention of the risks of "carbon leaks" is declared as the goal of regulation. In other words, it is the fight against the transfer of industrial production from the EU to other countries. The proposed mechanism will affect Russia's exports of iron and steel, aluminum, pipes, electricity and cement worth $7.6 billion a year, the Ministry of Economic Development estimated.
"We hope that EU representatives will keep the promises made to us earlier and ensure that the document complies with the norms of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and other international agreements. We look forward to a meaningful dialogue with colleagues from the European Commission," Reshetnikov said.
According to the minister, for almost a year and a half, while the work on the project was underway, the EU colleagues assured the whole world "that the letter and spirit of the WTO agreement will be fully observed."
"Today there is no certainty about this," he noted.
Reshetnikov also pointed out that the relationship between the mechanism proposed by the European Union and the fight against climate change is also not obvious. He pointed out that the Paris Agreement guarantees countries the right to independently determine the most effective methods for combating climate change.
"The global problem can be solved only through coordinated actions of all countries. Moreover, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change explicitly states that measures to combat climate change should not be used to restrict international trade," he stressed.
