“The State Duma is currently considering a law on applying the world’s best environmental practices not only to the construction sector, but also to other industrial sectors. While working on this law, we drew from the best global practices and cooperated with international experts. I hope very much that it will be adopted by the State Duma in the near future and will be implemented in practice.”
“If we all act together – actively, carefully, abiding by international standards, listening to expert opinions and finding compromises – I am certain that we will be able to organise our work in the Arctic in such a way that it will contribute to all nations living there and, in fact, to all of humankind. At the same time, we will act so as to preserve the region for future generations, to the extent that humans can preserve anything in its original form; what I mean is that our planet is a living organism, and everything on it is changing.”
“Our goal is to use all our resources to study the current state of the Arctic in detail and to develop effective instruments for reducing already inflicted damage and preventing new risks. I'd like to hope that the current forum will become a venue for discussing and finding solutions to all the problems I have mentioned. Therefore, I propose that we devote the next forum to environmental protection.”
“For our part, we have already launched a general clean-up operation in the Far North and the Russian Arctic as promised. One of the first projects is clearing Franz Josef Land of barrels with waste oil. <…>Implementation of these proposals will not only improve the Arctic environment but also allow us to develop unique technology for reclaiming polluted territories. Let me repeat that environmental protection should become a key theme of our activities in the Far North because for all its severity, the Arctic has the most fragile ecosystem on our planet. The price of a negligent, careless attitude towards the Arctic is very high and the consequences disastrous.”
“All our plans will be carried out in compliance with the toughest environmental standards. A careful, civilised attitude to nature is a requirement of all development programmes. Active economic development of the Arctic will be beneficial only if we maintain a rational balance between economic interests and environmental protection for the long term, not just for 10, 15 or 20 years.”
“Certainly, not a single industrial project, neither production on the shelf nor construction of new plants, will be implemented without compliance with the most stringent ecological requirements. A protective, civilised relationship with nature is a prerequisite for the implementation of all our development programmes. Another 11 federal nature reserves and 20 national parks will be established in Russia within the next ten years.”
“We are introducing the most up-to-date environmental standards. Quite possibly, such standards are even more stringent than those in other countries. By no means can Russia be considered a leader in terms of emissions. <…>Russia does not damage the global environment to the same extent as other countries. At the same time, we understand our responsibility, but we will never place the national economy in a worse situation compared to other states. When we had signed and ratified the Kyoto protocol, Russia had assumed sufficiently tough obligations with regard to emissions. We are observing all of these commitments. We must promptly modernise production to reduce the burden on our ecosystem.”
“Come what may, we should switch to state-of-the-art equipment, which will be environmentally friendlier and more efficient. Such equipment demands high-octane petrol.”
“In addition to that, offshore and inland sea operations will be conducted only by those companies that, in addition to having the requisite technologies and specialists, have sufficient financial resources to prevent and clean up any potential oil spill and compensate for the damage done to the environment and to biological resources.”
“The tragedy that unfolded in the Gulf of Mexico last year is fresh in our memory. We remember the toll it took on the surrounding environment and on people. We need to be proactive and address all the necessary technical and financial issues in order to prevent anything of the sort from happening in Russia. Therefore, I propose to adopt a law listing all the requirements and responsibilities of those companies engaged in upstream and downstream operations in inland seas and on continental shelves.”
