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Russia should not withdraw from Paris Agreement — Natural Resources Ministry

The Paris Agreement was adopted on December 12, 2015

Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology Alexander Kozlov Mikhail Metzel/TASS

Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology Alexander Kozlov

© Mikhail Metzel/TASS

MOSCOW, May 30. /TASS/. Russia definitely should not withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate, this would hurt the country's image as an environmentally responsible state, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Alexander Kozlov said in an interview with Izvestia.

"Should Russia withdraw from the Paris Agreement? Absolutely not. We regard speculations around this topic as expressions of private opinion for PR purposes. This would mean either attempting to deny the problem of a changing climate, or show unwillingness to work on this issue. Both would definitely deal a serious blow to Russia's image as an environmentally responsible state," Kozlov said.

The minister added that Russia plays a huge role in solving global climate problems, since the territory of the country is covered by over 815 mln hectares of forests. Russia has a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030, he added.

The Paris Agreement was adopted on December 12, 2015 - 197 participant countries agreed to prevent the growth in mean global temperature by 2100 of over 2C compared to pre-industrial levels.

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