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Andrey Slepnev: "We expect to form a common EAEU climate agenda in a short time"
"Climate issues are related to the pillars of the Eurasian Economic Union operation – ensuring the free movement of goods, services, capital and labour. And a common market can not exist if we have, for example, scattered systems of environmental payments that will create barriers to trade," Andrey Slepnev noted.
Based on the results of the 26th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Conference on Climate Change in Glasgow, we can confidently say that the contours and rules of the game have been determined, and our current task is to form our agenda in accordance with these frameworks.
If the Union countries have different conditions for carbon footprint accounting, a barrier to cooperation will appear. Different approaches to the taxonomy formation in the EAEU countries will create barriers in climate project financing.
The readiness for common decisions was confirmed at a meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council where a high-level working group on climate was created. "We are developing a road map to include all these issues as an element of a single agenda or integrated instruments," the EEC Minister in charge of Trade emphasized.
In addition, Andrey Slepnev outlined the topic of access to the Union market from third countries. In particular, it is necessary to make decisions on technical regulation, which is within the EEC's direct competence: what, for example, to do with the access for internal combustion engine vehicles, which will be banned in neighboring countries as part of the "green" transition?
There also arises the question of fiscal and tariff conditions in relation to the carbon footprint. "We are trying to respond to the EU and other countries' initiatives, but what measures are we going to take ourselves in this area? This topic is also included in the single Eurasian agenda,” the Minister noted.
He also highlighted the need to develop Eurasian programs, for example, in the field of low-carbon transport. He also touched upon establishing the carbon units market, suggesting that the Union can also be an exporter but only within a single and internationally recognized system.
The session was also attended by Nikolay Podguzov, Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Development Bank, Alibek Kuantyrov, Vice Minister of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Aydar Ryskulov, Managing Director for Economics and Finance of Samruk Energy JSC, Aydar Kazybayev, General Director of the AIFC Green Finance Center, Reno Seligmann, Director and Permanent World Bank Representative in Russia, Europe and Central Asia, Alexander Shokhin, President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Tatyana Zavyalova, Senior Vice President for ESG of Sberbank, PJSC. The discussion was moderated by Sergey Storchak, senior banker of VEB.RF.
