IN MOSCOW, GREEN CONSCIOUSNESS SLOWLY TAKING ROOT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MOSCOW 003693 DEPT FOR OES/ENV DEPT PASS TO AID SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV ECON ETRD SOCI EAID PGOV RS SUBJECT: IN MOSCOW, GREEN CONSCIOUSNESS SLOWLY TAKING ROOT MOSCOW 00003693 001.2 OF 003 THIS CABLE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Slowly but surely, green practices are taking root in Moscow. Even the most ardent of Moscow's capitalist consumerists can no longer ignore the region's rapid environmental degradation as the once fish-chock streams and mushroom-rich forests that attracted flocks to build mini-mansions outside the city turn into seemingly unredeemable cesspools and unofficial dumps. Overfilling landfills concern some, increased interaction with the better environmental conditions and practices of "green" Europeans spurs others, while saving money interests almost everyone. Astounding rates of energy consumption by buildings prompt commercial developers to consider the energy reductions of sustainable design. EST explored two areas where Moscow's greening should, in theory, be easiest to implement: waste management and energy efficient buildings. END SUMMARY. Three Options to Relieve Overflowing Moscow Landfills -------------- -------------- ¶2. (U) With the 20 active landfills in the Moscow area at or close to capacity, Moscow city authorities and environmental groups are actively exploring how to manage the approximately 24 million tons of solid waste that Muscovites and businesses in Moscow produce annually (as of 2008): -- Few advocate transporting waste to landfills outside the city because transportation is too expensive. -- The Moscow city government proposed building nine incinerator plants in the Moscow area by 2015 to burn waste. Environmentalists publicly opposed this option, arguing that incinerators discharge as many as 24 different hazardous pollutants into the atmosphere. According to Greenpeace, installing nine incinerator plants will cost nearly $2.7 billion (75.5 billion rubles),and still leave 12 percent of the waste to be disposed. -- Greenpeace favors sorting and recycling plants, which would cost no more than $2 billion (55 billion rubles) and leave only 4 percent of the waste in Moscow. In 2008, Moscow city authorities announced a plan to set up eight recycling facilities in each district of the city by 2012, which would double the Moscow's recycling capacity. In addition, there are currently 2,000 machines around Moscow that exchange empty cans for cash. But at only 1 cent (30 kopeks) per can, the only people who seem motivated to deposit cans are the homeless. So What Happens to Waste? -------------- ¶3. (SBU) There are three waste management companies in Moscow, all controlled by the Moscow city government, that collect, sort, process, and transport large quantities of waste. Most waste management organizations in Moscow only perform one of these stages. The Embassy has contracted with a semi-private company, Moreservices, since 1993 to transport and sort the 19,500 cubic meters of waste the Embassy community produces annually. Moreservices, registered in Delaware, was created in 2001 through a merger of the Moscow city government residential waste management organization and a private company that transported industrial waste. Moscow city authorities license Moreservices, appoint and supervise some of its officials, and set pollution limits with which it must comply. ¶4. (SBU) On November 25, Andrey Kakhanov, General Contractor for Moreservices, guided EST intern and a GSO employee through Moreservices's northern Moscow waste processing facility where the Embassy's and other industrial trash is received. Moreservices processes approximately 60,000 tons of waste per year, or 180 tons per day. As he led them through the cavernous, dimly lit warehouse, Kakhanov noted that although it covers an entire city block, the warehouse is not big enough to deal with the current volume of waste. His point was proven by the twenty-foot-high pyramids of unsorted waste that covered the entire facility. Approximately five non-ethnic Russian employees, wearing no protective gear, hand-sorted pieces of wood, cardboard, and plastic to be pressed into blocks. They placed the remaining items on a conveyor belt from which five additional employees hand-sorted paper, aluminum, glass, and plastic bottles into separate compartments for compacting into blocks. The waste blocks are transported to a landfill or MOSCOW 00003693 002.2 OF 003 recycling facility every two weeks. The remaining 30 percent of waste is then ground in a separation drum to compress and extract compostable matter. The compressed waste is transported to a landfill. ¶5. (U) Although Moreservices recycles 50-60 percent of the industrial waste it collects, it can only recycle 5-10 percent of the residential waste. Large pieces of industrial waste are easier to separate and transport. Residential waste is often soiled, difficult to sort, and not substantial enough to be worth the cost of transporting it regularly to a sorting facility. Moreservices sends glass to the Moscow Electric Bulb Plant to be recycled into light bulbs. Paper products are recycled into cardboard, toilet paper, or paper and fabrics for construction. Unsoiled metal and plastic are used for food packaging, and soiled material is often used for industrial or construction purposes. ¶6. (U) If it had not been for the financial crisis, Kakhanov had hoped to build cardboard and polymer recycling facilities and construct another waste sorting complex. Moreservices has installed machines for compressing waste on-site at some industries such as the large grocery stores Auchan and Metro to expedite their waste sorting and collection. Employees are trained to use the machines, and companies are given discounts for using them. Green Buildings Potential Source of Huge Savings -------------- --- ¶7. (U) The comprehensive World Bank Group September 2008 study "Energy Efficiency in Russia: Untapped Reserves" (http://www.ifc.org/ifcext/ rsefp.nsf/AttachmentsByTitle/ FINAL_EE_report_Engl.pdf/ $FILE/Final_EE_report_engl.pdf) grabbed headlines with its findings that Russia can save 45 percent of its total primary energy consumption and that Russia's current energy inefficiency is equal to the annual primary energy consumption of France. The study highlighted that the most significant barriers to energy efficiency in residential housing relate to building standards, public behavior, and difficulties in organizing and financing energy efficiency improvements in common areas. Declaring that strong GOR leadership is needed to attract energy efficiency investment, the study recommended that the GOR create a dedicated energy efficiency agency to develop and implement a comprehensive energy efficiency policy for Russia and start collecting reliable statistics. The study listed several low-cost measures the GOR can take to deliver rapid results and increase political support, including launching an energy efficiency information awareness campaign, issuing flexible budgeting and procurement rules in public organizations, and transforming municipal heat suppliers into commercial entities. ¶8. (U) Energy costs in Russia, though growing, are still artificially low. At the October 29 Green Buildings Conference organized by Carrier Corporation, EST intern and Foreign Commercial Service staff learned about new directions for energy efficiency in Russian commercial development and how green buildings' sustainable design reduces the amount of energy buildings consume, currently at a staggering 40 percent of all of Russia's energy consumption. Like the World Bank study, experts at Carrier's conference stressed that systemic government support in the form of subsidies for energy efficient green buildings and renewable energy, standards, and regulations is very important. Experts noted that past subsidies for cheap energy sources such as coal inhibited the development of ecologically friendly technology and more expensive energy sources. NGO Action Good; Government Action Essential and Beginning -------------- -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Greenpeace Russia's campaign director Ivan Blokov told EST that it is crucial for the Russian government (GOR) to enforce energy regulations and observe them itself. He has been arguing for the introduction of strict regulations for energy consumption and tax benefits for green initiatives. Although a range of regulations have been adopted by the Moscow City authorities, the federal government has not initiated similar action at the national level. Yevgeniy Shvarts, Director of Conservation Policy at the World Wildlife Federation (WWF),would include on his list of the top five environmental issues in Russia the GOR's lack of clear goals for energy efficiency and environmental policy. It is so important that WWF is getting more involved in such issues as waste management in order to reduce Russia's environmental footprint. MOSCOW 00003693 003.2 OF 003 ¶10. (U) Moreservices' Kakhanov expressed appreciation for environmental organizations like Greenpeace and WWF that work towards a cleaner and more balanced environment, commenting that it is crucial for someone to ask the hard questions about environmental standards. But in order for there to be significant change, he argued, the government, private, and non-profit sectors must also be involved. Kakhanov and other contacts were unanimous: because Russian businesses take their lead from the government, decisive government action is essential. In addition, waste management companies and ordinary citizens will only go green if they have an economic benefit in doing so. ¶11. (U) President Medvedev has rolled out several green initiatives. Calling for an action plan to halve Russia's energy intensity by 2020, he hosted a June 3 conference at the Kremlin at which ministers, agency heads, and select NGO representatives discussed sustainable environment and energy efficiency. While emphasizing the negative effect of substandard environmental conditions and the dangerous levels of pollution on Russia's economic competitiveness, Medvedev called for industrial regulations, waste limits, and standards for water, air, and soil quality. Importantly, the 2009 budget includes funds for energy efficiency projects, environmentally clean production technologies, and the incorporation of environmental curriculum into education standards. ¶12. (U) Deputy Department Director Mikhail Travkin of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology told Carrier conference attendees that his Ministry is working on standards. Gennadiy Smaga of the Federal Agency on Science and Innovation outlined the stages Russia needs to pass through to adopt green technology. First, the GOR must establish, monitor, and enforce regulations and establish a standardized national plan for utilizing energy efficient technology. Then, manufacturers must develop the capacity to use green technology efficiently. Finally, the GOR must promote the benefits of green technology to consumers and in turn stimulate market demand for green products. ¶13. (SBU) Comment: Russia has two of the elements it needs to make real progress in "greening": growing government commitment to introduce greater energy efficiency and improved standards, and a burgeoning public concern about the deteriorating environment. Non-governmental organizations can play a critical role in helping to advance public understanding and action. But aggressive environmental advocacy is risky. Activist Mikhail Beketov has faced continuous and escalating pressure since he began using his one-man newspaper in 2007 to protest plans to clear part of the 2,400-acre Khimki forest northwest of Moscow for a new highway linking Moscow and St. Petersburg. On November 13, he was found brutally beaten and was hospitalized, in a coma, and his right leg amputated. End Comment. BEYRLE