Equally, Russia has only taken on very modest obligations under the Paris Agreement, pledging to keep CO2 emissions at no more than 70 percent of their level in 1990. The country could achieve that goal without making any effort at all, according to Anna Romanovskaya, director of the Institute of Global Climate and Ecology at the Russian Academy of Sciences. Such conservative goals create no incentives for the Russian government to take even elementary measures, such as protecting against forest fires, soil conservation, and modernizing industry.
Russia's inaction on climate issues could lead to new problems in its relationship with the EU. The Green Deal, for example, envisages the introduction of an EU carbon border tax, which alarms Russian exporters.
It hasn't yet been decided how exactly the tax will be calculated, but in theory, the figure will depend on the volume of emissions caused by the production of the goods in question. Oil processing, for example, uses energy produced by CO2-generating coal power plants.
The carbon tax on imports should even up the rules of the game for European and foreign manufacturers, and provide a stimulus for foreign companies to reduce their CO2 emissions. The tax will have the biggest impact on the price of oil, coal, and gas being supplied to the EU, causing price increases upon crossing the EU border. Which companies will pay the carbon tax and whether they will be able to avoid it and how will only become clear after consultations with the EU.
Russian companies naturally do not welcome the tax, since at home there are no such incentives to cut emissions. The EU's response is that the new tax can be avoided if other countries also introduce analogous environmental standards.