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Russia allocates €5 billion to Arctic environmental projects

The funds will be designated to the Arctic Council's Project Support Instrument (PSI), which is administered by the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO)

MOSCOW, July 16. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia has transferred a first payment of €5 billion to implement the Arctic Council’s environmental projects on the Russian territory, the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry press service said on Wednesday.

The next instalment of the same amount will be paid by the Russian Finance Ministry next year.

The funds will be designated to the Arctic Council's Project Support Instrument (PSI), which is administered by the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO).

The Arctic Council Project Support Instrument, which was established by the Arctic Council in 2005, is a financial initiative that focuses on actions aimed at preventing pollution of the Arctic, including minimizing and eliminating the release of hazardous substances such as persistent organic pollutants and mercury and mitigating the climate change. The PSI is open to contributions from the Arctic Council members (Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States), observers and other interested parties.

“Large-scale environmental activities in the Far North require concerted efforts from all Arctic states, alongside their intellectual and technical capacities,” said Rinat Gizatulin, chairman of the Russian Interagency Committee for the PSI.