The Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia hosted the first meeting of the Organizing Committee of the X Nevsky International Environmental Congress, which will be held in May 2023 at the site of the IPA CIS in the Tauride Palace of St. Petersburg.
The Organizing Committee was co-chaired by the Chairman of the Federation Council, Chairman of the IPA CIS Council Valentina Matvienko and Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Victoria Abramchenko.
According to Valentina Matvienko, thanks to the joint efforts of the Federation Council, the Government of Russia, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the IPA CIS, the Congress has already won the status of an authoritative international environmental platform. “In recent years, environmental issues have become one of the most relevant for humanity. We proceed from the fact that clean air, clean water, the environment as a whole is the right of every inhabitant of the planet. And our Congress is aimed, among other things, at ensuring that as many people as possible in our country and in the world live in environmentally friendly conditions,” said the Chairman of the IPA CIS Council.
Regarding the practical orientation of the Congress, Valentina Matvienko stressed that the recommendations that are accumulated in the Final Document always become a real “road map”. As an example, she named a package of legislative measures to improve the quality of management of the forest industry, to limit greenhouse gas emissions, to improve the waste management system, adopted after the recommendations of the previous Neva Environmental Congresses.
Valentina Matvienko called for the wide participation of foreign guests in the Anniversary Congress. “These should be bright, open, initiative people – true devotees of their work, professionals deeply immersed in environmental issues,” the speaker stressed.
The Chairman of the Federation Council expressed confidence that interest in the Nevsky Ecological Forum will be high. The Organizing Committee expects representatives of relevant ministries and departments, scientific and public organizations, as well as the business community to actively participate in the event.
Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Victoria Abramchenko said that as the main topic for discussion at the plenary session of the Congress, it was proposed to choose the human influence on all ecosystems of the planet, to talk about responsible human activity for the preservation of life on Earth. Victoria Abramchenko is confident that the Congress platform will allow discussing the most acute and urgent environmental issues of today within the framework of an honest and open international dialogue.
The Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation proposed to include in the business program of the Congress issues related to the provision of water to the population and the cleanliness of water bodies, improving air quality in cities, as well as the ecology of the land and reducing the negative impact of all types of waste. According to Victoria Abramchenko, Russia already has concrete solutions for these key blocks and the opportunity to share experience with foreign partners. “The solution of these and other tasks is in the hands of all countries of the world, each individual who sorts garbage, saves water, is engaged in volunteering, reduces the consumption of non—recyclable materials,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
The meeting participants discussed the “architecture” of the business program of the X Nevsky Ecological Congress, as well as the possibility of holding environmental events and actions in St. Petersburg and other regions of Russia, the press service of the Chamber of Regions reported.
The meeting was also attended by Deputy Co-Chairs of the Organizing Committee of the Nevsky Ecological Congress, First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Andrey Yatskin, Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation Alexander Kozlov, Advisor to the President of the Russian Federation, Executive Secretary of the Organizing Committee Anton Kobyakov, Secretary General of the IPA CIS Council Dmitry Kobitsky.
The Nevsky International Ecological Congress has been held in the Tauride Palace since 2008 in response to the growing global challenges and threats in the field of ecology. The Congress discussion platform is used to discuss such topics as nature protection and environmental management, strengthening inter-parliamentary cooperation in the field of harmonization of environmental legislation, the introduction of resource-saving, energy-efficient and low-waste technologies.
Among the participants of the NMEC are representatives of government authorities, business circles, educational and research institutions and public organizations of the CIS countries and other states, as well as international organizations.
Following the discussion of problematic issues at the Nevsky International Ecological Congress, 18 model laws in the field of agrarian policy, ecology and environmental protection were developed.
