Blog

07
Aug

Russian legislators to consider EU ETS amendments this fall

Russia’s lower legislative house, the State Duma,will consider adding European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) amendments to its environmental protection law, which were put in place 10 years ago. If the parliament approves the changes, the Russian government will be able to forbid local carriers to take part in the EU ETS.

The amendments would make the move on the basis that EU ETS was “launched by foreign countries and international organizations, in which [the] Russian Federation doesn’t participate.”

In February, Russian deputy transport minister Valery Okulov said Russia was planning to prohibit its local carriers from paying for emissions and said the declaration could pass in the first half of 2012 (ATW Daily News, Feb. 23).

In addition, Russian authorities are using Siberian overflight fees to influence the EU in the ETS dispute.

The EU and the Russian Federation in 2006 agreed to phase out costly Siberian overflight fees by 2013 (ATW Daily News, Nov. 28, 2006). In February Okulov said Russia could reconsider the decisions on overflight fees on routes over Siberia. However, Russian authorities have now refused to discuss reducing overflight charges in light of the EU ETS fees.

source: ATW, August 6, 2012