Putin tells Biden’s climate change envoy that Russia & US can work together for their ‘common interests’ regarding global warming
Moscow and Washington have “common interests” when it comes to global warming, Russian President Vladimir Putin told US climate envoy John Kerry on Wednesday, also noting that the capitals have similar approaches to the issue.
According to a Kremlin statement, Putin and Kerry had a phone call as part of the American politician’s trip to Moscow. The envoy is the highest-ranking official in President Joe Biden’s administration to have visited Russia since his January inauguration.
The Russian leader told the climate change envoy that Russia was absolutely set on achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, and that Moscow advocated a depoliticized dialogue about global warming.
“In general, it was said that the climate is one of the areas in which Russia and the United States have common interests and similar approaches,” the read-out concluded.
Both Washington and Moscow will participate in the 26th UN Climate Change Convention in Glasgow later this year. Kerry is currently in Russia to discuss cooperation between the two, which are among the world’s biggest polluters.
On Tuesday, he met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to discuss the same issue. Following their conversation, both parties noted that cooperation in this sphere could lead to reduced tensions in the future.
“We are pleased that Russia wants now to take steps, additional steps, because your country is impacted [by climate change], obviously. And we believe that there is space for us to cooperate on this,” Kerry said.
Following the meeting, the envoy wrote on Twitter that it had been a “good start.”
In recent times, Moscow has been more serious in its rhetoric about tackling climate change. Last month, during Putin’s annual ‘Direct Line’ call-in show, the Russian leader suggested climate change was affecting Russia faster than many other countries in the world, and called on the nation to prepare for severe social and economic consequences caused by global warming.
Speaking last year to the Valdai Club think tank, the president called for an end to “unrestrained and unlimited consumption,” noting that tensions regarding climate change had “reached a critical point.”
“It affects pipeline systems, residential districts built on permafrost, and so on,” Putin explained. “If as much as 25% of the near-surface layers of permafrost – which is about three or four meters – melts by 2100, we will feel the effect very strongly.”
Earlier this year, Putin revealed that his government would force industries to adapt to global warming, with the authorities being instructed to establish strict controls in the fight against harmful emissions.
“We must respond to the challenges of climate change, adapt agriculture, industry, utilities, the entire infrastructure,” Putin urged. “[We must] create an industry to recycle carbon emissions, achieve a reduction in their volume and introduce strict control and monitoring.”
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