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Special Presidential Representative On Climate Issues Alexander Bedritsky:

President of the Conference, Secretary General of the United Nations, Delegates, Ladies & Gentlemen,

One of the key objectives of the Climate Conference in Lima is to agree on specific parameters for the post-2020 climate regime. We believe that the new climate agreement should be based on the tenants of the UNFCC, including common but differentiated responsibilities. This cornerstone of the Convention must be understood in light of the advancement of UNFCCC parties’ economic potential over the last 20 years. The commitments and contributions of developed and developing countries may differ in size, but they should all be enshrined in a single international legal document, meaning they should be legally binding and be subject to reporting. This would ensure countries’ intentions are indeed as “ambitious” as scientific and public associations expect.

A key element of the new agreement and a part of our common responsibility is adaptation to climate change. However to determine specific commitments for adaptation as part of a multi-lateral climate agreement further deliberation is required. Developed countries’ existing commitments to provide financial and technical assistance to developing countries for adaption should be counted, as should the recently created multilateral mechanism, the Green Climate Fund (GFC), which has funding windows for mitigation and adaptation activities alike. In Lima a decision about the new agreement’s duration must be taken. We hope that the decision will be taken in Lima on the basis of the draft text of new agreement for negotiation in 2015. We continue to believe that this should be a period which is sufficiently long for the implementation of programs that modernize economies and replace old technology; i.e. 10 years, or until 2030.

2014 marked the 20^th anniversary of the entry into force of the UNFCCC. Over the last 20 years Russia has managed to reduce its total emissions in the energy sector (the main source of GG emissions) by roughly the same amount that the EU has emitted over five years, and the US over three. Long-term emissions reductions are planned. The domestic target of a 25% cut in emissions from the 1990 level by the year 2020 is enshrined in a presidential decree from President Putin.

As for commitments to be made under the new agreement, limiting anthropogenic greenhouse gases in Russia to 70–75% of 1990 levels by the year 2030 might be a long-term indicator. Naturally, the final value of this indicator will depend on our country’s actual socio-economic circumstances and the global political and economic climate, as well on the commitments undertaken by major-emitter countries.

We welcome the efforts taken by WMO, IOC UNESCO and others to implement GFCS in order to improve the international exchange of climate data and their quality and access of the users in all countries. Russia, as a country with vast forest resources, is interested in due accounting of land use and forestry. We believe the new agreement should reflect the principle of counting forests, either as used in the current agreement or as defined domestically. The rules for counting LULUCF should be the same for all countries, developing and developed. They should be applied from the beginning of the commitment period of the new agreement.

Russia is interested in developing emissions reduction incentives and in exchanging of practices in this sphere. We believe that before signing the new climate agreement, state parties should decide on market mechanisms which will help countries to meet their commitments for the post-2020 period. However, forcing Russian companies to participate in carbon-trading schemes created by separate groups of countries is something we cannot accept.

As an economy in transition, Russia does not have a financial obligation to contribute to the UNFCCC funds. However, Russia has stated its willingness to support climate projects in developing countries and in other economies in transition, including in the  Background information Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) CIS. This type of assistance will be provided bilaterally and will take the form of voluntary contributions to international organizations and to financial mechanisms, such as the GCF.

Another important part of the new agreement is the provisions on entry into force and amendment. The rules of procedure should help to effectively implement decisions and support global efforts to reduce the anthropogenic load on the climate. They should by no means inhibit countries’ efforts.

The Russian Federation has repeatedly warned against violating the rules of procedure during decision making. We believe that the Conference of the Parties must guarantee strict compliance with the applicable rules of Procedure of the UNFCCC COP during negotiation of the draft international climate agreement and its adoption.

In conclusion I would like to express my gratitude to the Peru Government for the organization of the Conference.

Thank you.