MOSCOW, July 5. /TASS/. Russia intends to create single instruments of carbon neutrality and social responsibility of business within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in 2025, which has been announced a Year of sustainable development by the organization, the Russian president’s special envoy for relations with international organizations to achieve sustainable development goals Boris Titov said.

"We see our task in making sure that single instruments are created within the SCO that would allow reaching a new level on carbon neutrality, on social responsibility of business and governing rules aimed at development of not only business but society in countries where it operates as well. We will unify standards, work on the single system of GHG allowance allocation among other things. I am confident that regarding sustainable development SCO nations are able to set an example for the whole world," Titov was quoted as saying by his press service.

Major efforts by Moscow are underway in this direction, he said. In particular, centers on certification and support of sustainable development standards work in the Central Bank and largest lenders. Moreover, the president Vladimir Putin has welcomed the proposal by the Agency for Strategic Initiatives and tasked the government with developing and introducing the standard of social capital of business for dovetailing the presence of such capital with state support measures, Titov said, adding that such experience will be useful for SCO partners as well.

"It seemed to many that with all today’s problems, such as sanctions, broken supply chains and so on, the importance of sustainable development for global economy will be neglected. As we see the SCO does not think so. Member states are determined to implement the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals in their life," he stressed.

The SCO summit took place in Astana on July 4. It saw the organization’s permanent members accepting Belarus. Now the SCO consists of ten countries. Another ten states are dialogue partners, with a meeting in the ‘SCO plus’ format having taken place at the summit with their representatives for the first time.

The SCO was founded on June 15, 2001, in Shanghai. Initially the organization included Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, while in 2017 they were joined by India and Pakistan. Tehran applied to join in 2008 and became a full-fledged member of the organization in July 2023.