Parliamentarians Сonsider it Important to Improve Environmental Legislation at IPA CIS Level

On 25 May, the Tavricheskiy Palace hosted a roundtable on National Strategies and Priorities in Environmental Protection. Experts reviewed national projects in the field of environmental protection, discussed harmonization of approaches to the implementation of environmental policy inthe CIS countries and the sustainable development of mountain regions.

The roundtable was moderated by First Deputy Chair of the Committee of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation for Agrarian and Food Policy and Environmental Management Alexei Mayorov and Head of the Russian Ecology Society, Co-Chairman of the Expert Council under the Committee of the Federation Council on Agriculture and Food Policy and Environmental Management Rashid Ismailov.

CIS Secretary General Sergey Lebedev sent a welcoming speech to the participants of the roundtable delivered by his deputy Dauren Abaev.

Chair of the Committee of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the Development of the Aral Sea Region Boriy Alikhanov believes that the society poorly uses the experience of preserving mountain territories that had been accumulated over the years.

Member of the Committee of the Milli Majlis of the Azerbaijan Republic for Natural Resources, Energy and Ecology Iltizam Yusifov spoke about the environmental policy of Azerbaijan under current conditions.

Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus Andrei Khudyk said that the country worked systematically to improve legislation and pay special attention to environmental education.

Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan Zulfiya Suleimenova spoke about the concept of transition to a “green” policy adopted in 2013 in the country.

Ambassador at Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic Bolot Otunbayev said that climate change was acutely felt in the country, as most of its territory is mountainous.

Deputy Chair of the Committee of the Federation Council the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Budget and Financial Markets Andrei Epishin noted that the introduction of environmental solutions in production activities required increase in the cost of purchase of equipment minimizing the environmental harm.

Member of the Committee of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Constitutional Legislation and State Building Oleg Tsepkin spoke about the implementation of the federal project “Clean Air”, conducted as an experiment in 12 participating cities.

Deputy Director of the Project Center for Energy Transition at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology Irina Gaida stressed the important role of women in the environmental agenda.

Director of Division for Implementation of State and Sectoral Environmental Programmes, State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM Andrey Lebedev spoke about the contribution of the corporation’s infrastructure projects to the sustainable development of regions using the example of a nuclear power plant in Türkiye as an example.

Head of the Committee of the Council of Representatives of Iraq on Health and Environment Majid Khalaf Hammo Masttoo noted the role of inter-parliamentary relations in addressing the country’s environmental problems.

Head of the Republic of Altai Oleg Khorokhordin presented alternative areas of economic development in Altai, which do not affect the unique nature. Among them there are handicrafts, IT products, ecotourism and renewable energy.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Mikhail Yurin spoke about the trend of industrial enterprises switching to best available technologies.

The discussion brought together parliamentarians, representatives of relevant ministries, international organizations, Russian and foreign representatives of academia and business.