Russia’s New Environmental Policy in the Context of 'Green' Transformation

Russia has the world’s richest natural capital. It holds 6% of the world’s oil reserves, 17% of natural gas, 18% of coal, 15% of iron ore, 4% of copper, 10% of nickel and 17% of rare earth metals. Also important are renewable resources, which have gained strategic importance in the 21st century. About 20% of the world’s fresh water is located in Russia (mostly in Lake Baikal) and 20% of the world’s forest resources. Russia accounts for about 9% of the world’s arable land, but this area has decreased by more than 12% since 1990. Despite the fact that the catch of fish resources has decreased by about half since the end of the Soviet era, Russia ranks 6-7th in the world in this indicator and has shown the highest growth rate in the world over the last decade following reforms in the fisheries regulatory sector. Fishing catch. But more importantly, the ecological capacity of the Russian ecosystem significantly exceeds the ecological footprint of the Russian economy, making Russia one of the world’s largest environmental contributors.