According to Sergey Kononuchenko, Russia‘s Ambassador for Special Assignments and Special Representative of the Russian Foreign Minister on Climate Issues, Western countries are trying to compel major economies, including potentially Russia, to finance the fight against climate change ahead of the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) in November.
Kononuchenko explained that Hungary, which holds the EU presidency, distributed a working group document in August stating that not only developed countries but also major emitters and rapidly growing economies should take on the financial burden of combating climate change. Either of these terms could apply to Russia, the diplomat noted.
“What’s more, there is talk of it being almost a duty for all countries to participate in global efforts on this issue. In other words, the interpretation is being made that the global efforts of developed countries on financing will be replaced by global efforts involving a much broader range of participants, including Russia,” the diplomat said on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum.
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The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change has 198 participants (197 countries and the EU). The President of COP29 is Mukhtar Babayev, the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan, where the conference will take place.
