WEBINAR: Dr. Alexey Kokorin to Speak on Russia's Energy Future
The Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy, in partnership with World Resources Institute and Environmental Defense Fund, invite you to join us Thursday, November 17, at 12:00 PM for the next event in our webinar series: Climate Change Solutions: Frontline Perspectives from Around the Globe.
Dr. Alexey Kokorin, Head of WWF Russia's Climate & Energy Program, will discuss his research and perspectives on Russian greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reduction scenarios and policies. In Russia, targets of the energy mix and related GHG emissions have often been driven by political agendas rather than by any accurate calculations or forecasts. This happened, for example, in 2009 when, preparing for UNFCC COP in Copenhagen, the Russian government committed to a 15 percent reduction of GHG emissions by 2020 compared to 1990 levels (which meant almost 20 percent growth in 2009-2020). However, that same autumn, the commitment changed to 25-percent reduction as a result of political debates. Similarly, looking at a longer perspective, the government has changed its target from 2- to 3-fold increase in national GHG emissions by 2050 (compared to 1990) to "not exceeding" the 1990 level by 2030.
Dr. Kokorin’s presentation will review research undertaken by WWF Russia and the Institute of Economic Policy (IEP) to develop scenarios of GHG emissions in Russia for 2050 based on modeling the future national energy mix as determined not only by technological potential but also on social, economic and political realities. A Q&A session will follow.