🎙 Read excerpts from statement of Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the OSCE Alexander Volgarev (meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council, 2 March 2023)

On the Secretary General's thematic report on the OSCE and climate change

Russia opposes the politicization of discussions on climate change. Attempts by certain participating States and the OSCE Secretariat to consider the problem of climate change solely through the prism of security are categorically unacceptable

Establishing a direct link between climate change and security constitutes a distortion of OSCE commitments adopted by Stockholm Ministerial Council Decision №3/21

We stand for the intensification of dialogue and co-operation among participating States in overcoming and mitigating negative impacts of climate change, adaptation to them in the fields of disaster risk reduction, water management, protection of critical energy infrastructure

Russia stands open to a substantial discussion on the ways of practical implementation of the Stockholm MC Decision, including in the framework of the planned OSCE High-Level Conference on climate change under the auspices of the OSCE Secretary General

Reasoning about the “impact of war against Ukraine on climate security” are absurd, as are attempts to extrapolate the situation in that country on global trends in the field of climate interaction

“Ukrainization” of the OSCE work, be it on climate track, in the Second or any other dimension, leads to the situation when the mandate of the Organization “sags”, and the accumulated experience and competences are not used for their intended purposes

We share the understanding that the development of regional co-operation in solving transboundary problems can help strengthen good neighborly relations and build mutual confidence between participating States

We agree with the need to intensify efforts to develop and utilize early-warning mechanisms for prevention and mitigation of possible negative impacts of climate change, and are ready for joint steps in this area

In the implementation of the OSCE mandate in the sphere of climate change the Secretary General, OCEEA, executive structures and field presences must strictly adhere to the provisions agreed by the participating States of the decisions adopted by the decision-making bodies

Being one of the recognized leaders of the international climate process, Russia would not want the positive achievements accumulated by joint efforts in this area to be wasted due to momentary political disagreements