Russia is emerging as one of the remaining barriers to a global climate deal in Paris this year, with plans to increase its coal production and greenhouse gas emissions over the next five years, Energiewende Germany reports.
“While many parts of the world are quite concerned about the climate issue, the situation in Moscow is the exact opposite as politicians are mostly ignorant of both the climate and the coal issue,” Böll Stiftung writes. While Russia’s economic slowdown is hampering its plans to increase GHG emissions over the next five years, the government adopted a $7 billion support package last year for the country’s 100% privately-owned coal industry.
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“The program calls for an increase in coal energy from 25% to 37% by 2020,” Böll Stiftung notes. “The Russian government also expects its coal exports to grow significantly over the next few years,” though China’s commitment to cap its coal use in 2020 could put a major crimp in the longer-term plan.
