This opinion was expressed by Andrey Slepnev, Minister in charge of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission, at the session International Trade and Climate Regulation: Barrier-Free Solutions for BRICS, SCO, EAEU and APEC held by the EEC within the framework of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2025.

"The system could be based on carbon footprint validation and offsetting, which implies higher costs for industrialized economies and lower such costs for developing countries where there are great possibilities for climate projects," the EEC Minister explained.

As Andrey Slepnev noted, more international coordination is needed to ensure that national climate regulation does not turn into a trade barrier. In the case of the EAEU, the necessary measures are provided for in the Eurasian Economic Path Declaration. Thanks to them, the climate agenda should act as a driver rather than a brake on economic development.

The EEC Minister also participated in the session Energy Sector Capital: Seeking Effective Solutions for Developing Nations, where he emphasized that only a reasonable combination of investments in green projects, net-zero emission projects and transit/transition technologies can make it to a rational approach, ensuring both technological transformation and decent economic growth rates.

On the sidelines of the Forum Andrey Slepnev discussed bilateral trade and economic cooperation with Samir Abdelhafid, Minister of Economy and Planning of the Republic of Tunisia. It bears reminding that in January 2025, the parties established a joint research group to study the feasibility of concluding a free trade agreement between the EAEU and Tunisia.

In addition, the head of the EEC trade unit held meetings with Dmitry Kim, CEO of Ozon Holding, and Tatyana Kim, founder of Wildberries, where the topics of e-commerce regulation in the EAEU were touched upon, as well as the possible entry of marketplaces into new promising foreign markets.