nCa Report
Russia launched its national project ‘Ecology’ in 2018. It had ambitious targets, to be achieved by 2024.
The latest reviews suggest that the implementation is proceeding satisfactorily. This has inspired Central Asia, especially Uzbekistan, to streamline the efforts to repair and safeguard ecology and environment through the integrated and holistic approach.
The project ‘Ecology’ owes its success to the PPP format it followed right from the beginning – Public-Private-People partnership. It was done under the recognition that any project related to ecology as an indivisible whole cannot succeed without the active participation of the population.
Polina Bakunovich, in an article for Climate Scoreboard gave the basic details of the project. The project Ecology identified 10 directions in which essential changes should occur by 2024:
- Clean country – Liquidation of illegal landfills and most dangerous objects for environment
- Integrated system for municipal waste management
- Infrastructure for handling especially hazardous waste
- Clean and Fresh air – Reduction of atmospheric emissions in 12 Russian cities – Bratsk, Krasnoyarsk, Lipetsk, Magnitogorsk, Mednogorsk, Nizhny Tagil, Novokuznetsk, Norilsk, Omsk, Chelyabinsk, Cherepovets and Chita
- Clean water – Provision of clean drinking water to 99% of population
- Improvement of the Volga river – Reduction, from 3.2 km3 to 1,1 km3, in the volume of sewage to the Volga river, and also reclamation of its shores and raise from the bottom of the river 95 sunken ships that harm its water ecosystem
- Preservation of Lake Baikal – Modernization and reconstruction of the sewage treatment plant for the lake. The sewage discharge into Lake Baikal will be reduced by 50%. In addition, three new fisheries will be built, and sturgeon and omul fry will be released into the lake. The coast will be cleared of waste and other contaminants.
- Preservation of unique water objects
- Conservation of biological diversity and ecological tourism development – By 2024, 24 new specially protected natural areas will be established in Russia with facilities to support an additional 2 million visitors. Eco-tourism infrastructure will be developed.
- Forests Preservation – 100% restoration of forests
Dr. Ravshan Nazarov, senior researcher at the Institute of State and Law of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, gave some information about the successes of the project ‘Ecology’ in his recent conversation with Podrobno.uz.
We are producing here the relevant portion of the conversation:
The national project includes the federal project “Clean Air”, which is being implemented in more than 40 large industrial cities of Russia. Each has its own comprehensive plan. The key objective of the project is to reduce the total volume of pollutant emissions by 2 million tons by 2026 – more than by 20%.
It is planned to achieve such results through the modernization of industrial enterprises and existing boiler houses, the transfer of heating in private households from coal to more environmentally friendly fuel, and the launch of public transport using electricity and gas motor fuel.
During the implementation of the project, it was possible to reduce the amount of emissions of pollutants by 12.8% and hazardous pollutants by 13.3% from the base emissions of 2017. The largest decrease was observed in Chelyabinsk – 43%, Mednogorsk – 17%, Cherepovets – 16%.
Many of the practical measures applied during the implementation of the Ecology and Clean Air projects can be used in Uzbekistan.
Nazarov cited the Akhangaran cement factory example.
Last year, the Russian company MegaFon launched a digital system that monitors the quality of atmospheric air in the territory of Akhangaran. The automated monitoring complex consists of dust sensors, gas analyzers and a weather station. The equipment was installed near a socially significant city facility – a children’s sports stadium.
Priority indicators have been selected for monitoring. The concentration of suspended particles in the atmospheric air (for example, dust), nitrogen and sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, as well as indicators of temperature, humidity, pressure, precipitation intensity, wind speed and direction.
The platform also aggregates data from the auto emission control system of the city’s largest enterprise, the Akhangarancement company. By receiving complete information about the state of the air in real time, it is possible to minimize any risks associated with this.
Nazarov emphasized that this platform has been operating successfully for a relatively long time in a number of regions of Russia. Now it helps Uzbekistan improve the quality of atmospheric air, prevent emergency situations, and minimize both purely environmental and socio-economic risks.
He brought up the use of Hydrogen energy in the fight for clean air.
Hydrogen energy and, in particular, the use of hydrogen in transport is a promising area in the fight against air pollution and decarbonization of industrial sectors in the Eurasian Economic Union. Russia is currently one of the “pioneers” in the field of hydrogen technologies.
In 2022, GAZ presented at the INNOPROM exhibition a promising model of an electric bus powered by hydrogen fuel cells – GAZelle City. During its operation, only water vapor is released into the atmosphere. In the future, it is planned that water buses will become the basis of the public transport fleet in many Russian cities. And two years later, at the INNOPROM. Central Asia exhibition in Tashkent, Russian manufacturers presented the most powerful hydrogen car in the world, NAMI Hydrogen.
Rosatom is actively studying the possibilities of implementing projects in the field of hydrogen in the country and abroad. One of the ideas is the organization of “western” and “eastern” hydrogen clusters, which will provide hydrogen to the domestic and export markets – in Asia and Europe.
In Uzbekistan, about 90% of electricity is generated from fossil fuels – gas (85-86%) and coal (4-5%). According to experts, if current levels of resource consumption continue, fossil fuel reserves will last for a maximum of 20-30 years. Therefore, the demand for alternative energy sources is growing.
Nazarov underlined that cooperation between Uzbekistan and Russia in the field of ecology and the fight against air pollution opens new horizons for improving the quality of life and health of citizens. /// nCa, 14 August 2024