INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
to the draft federal budget for 2024-2026, the Clean Air Federal Project, which aims to reduce air pollution in dozens of industrial cities,
which aims to eliminate toxic waste sites, will see funding reduced by almost 30%
Other programs will see more modest reductions, such as a 12% budget cut for the Rejuvenation of the Volga Federal Project.As Russia hikes
Committee, told his colleagues, according to Vedomosti.A press representative from Russia's Natural Resources Ministry told Vedomosti that
the ministry's assessments found no risk of the Clean Air Project missing its targets.The representative said that the program's
implementation is ahead of schedule, with the cumulative volume of toxic pollutants already reduced by 11% compared to its goal of 8%
Moreover, the project's expenditures will be increased in 2025 and 2026.The Clean Air project includes positive aspects, such as the
establishment of more than 100 new air quality monitoring stations in the country and the fact that a significant portion of its planned
activities will genuinely lead to a reduction in air pollutant emissions, veteran environmental expert Ivan Blokov told The Moscow Times.At
noted that the accuracy of the 11% emissions reduction claimed by the Natural Resources Ministry is tricky, as it depends on the base year
Chelyabinsk and Magnitogorsk, one of the most polluted cities in the country, things have slightly worsened: for one or two substances,
will undoubtedly lead to a deterioration and a decrease in the number of activities that will be implemented under this project
emissions of air pollutants by at least 20% by 2024 in 12 major Russian industrial centers, including Krasnoyarsk, Magnitogorsk,
Novokuznetsk, Norilsk, and Chelyabinsk
Starting in September this year, the program also covers an additional 29 cities with high levels of air pollution, with the goal of
slashing emissions of hazardous substances in those cities by half by 2030.
