ST.PETERSBURG, June 4. /TASS/. Allegations that climate change problems are of no concern for Russia are nonsense, a myth and twisting of facts, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.

"We hear from time to time that Russia allegedly is not interested in addressing global environmental problems. Well, what can I say about that? That’s nonsense, myth or even blatant twisting of facts," he said opening a plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Russia, like other countries, feels "the risks and threats in this sphere, including desert invasion, soil erosion, permafrost thaw," Putin stressed. "Many of those present here know that we have entire cities in the Arctic built on deep-frozen soils. If it thaws, which consequents will Russia have? Naturally, we are very concerned with that."

"We consistently support the implementation of the UN framework convention on climate change, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement," Putin pledged. "There are no separate Russia, European, Asian, or American climates. Our countries share responsibility for the present-day world, for the lives of future generations".

Russia’s nature potential plays colossal role in world’s climatic stability

The president also said that "Russia’s nature potential is of colossal importance to maintaining the world’s climatic stability".

"Russia’s forests, tundra, farmland and marshes have a colossal absorption potential," he said.

Putin recalled that Russia accounted for one-fifth of the world’s forest areas. Forests take up nearly 10 million square kilometers of its territory. According to specialists’ estimates these forests consume billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent every year, Putin said.

"Let me stress again: the importance of Russia’s nature potential for keeping the world’s climate stable in general is enormous, it is colossal," he stated.

The Russian leader drew attention to the fact that the world witnessed the emergence of "a whole industry, a fundamentally new market of carbon emission units."

"Many, in particular, energy specialists, know what this is all about, but let me explain. It is a kind of asset, which characterizes the amount of hazardous emissions into the atmosphere absorbed by an area of land or forest," Putin said. "In other words, certain works carried out on this plot of land that have increased its absorption potential mean that a certain number of carbon units have been generated."

Already now many countries and associations, Putin stressed, have plans for accepting these units from exporters, thus compensating for the emissions caused by the production of goods they import.