The Russian Partnership for Climate Preservation and the UN Global Compact Local Network held the Global Net Zero Summit. The Summit was attended by Anatoly Chubais, Special Presidential Representative of the Russian Federation for Relations with International Organizations to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals, Rt Hon Lord Barker of Battle PC, Executive Chairman of t the En+ Board of Directors, Nick Bridge, United Kingdom Foreign Secretary’s Special Representative for Climate Change at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP-26), Svetlana Lukash, Deputy Head of the Presidential Experts’ Directorate, Russian G20 Sherpa, Oleg Pluzhnikov, Director of the Green Economy Center at VEB.RF, Maxim Titov, Executive Director, Energy Policy and International Relations Research Center (ENERPO RC), and others.

Over 130 countries have already pledged to achieve full carbon neutrality by 2050. Summit participants called on the Government of the Russian Federation and Russian business representatives to take decisive action to limit global warming to 1.5 ° C. “More than 60 countries around the world, which account for at least 75% of world GDP, have already defined and published their own national targets for achieving zero balance of greenhouse gas emissions (carbon neutrality), including countries of the European Union, Japan, the United States of America, the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Russian Federation does not have such a goal at the moment. We call on business and the Government of the Russian Federation to take proactive action and set more ambitious climate targets in accordance with the Paris Agreement (2015),” the Summit communiqué says.

To maintain and strengthen the competitiveness of Russian business in the international market and increase the investment attractiveness of Russian enterprises in the context of the global energy transition and industrial shift, the communique identified two key factors:

1. To determine the achievement of carbon neutrality of the Russian Federation by 2050 as the fundamental goal of the Long-term Socio-economic Development Strategy with a Low Carbon Footprint, the draft of which has been prepared by the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation;
2. To provide the necessary funding in the public and private sectors to ensure the implementation of an intensive scenario and a systemic socio-economic transformation, aligning with the goal of achieving carbon neutrality of the Russian Federation by 2050, primarily in the leading industries.

To support business in this transition process, the UN GC Network Russia, with the support of EN + Group, is launching an educational Climate Ambition Accelerator in Russia.

The Climate Ambition Accelerator is a six-month program that helps businesses understand how and why to set corporate science-based goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Expert support for the Climate Ambition Accelerator is based on the concept and methodology of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and has been developed by the UNGC in cooperation with the SBTi and the Business Ambition for 1.5°C.

About the SBTi

Through the Paris Agreement, world governments committed to prevent dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to well-below 2°C. According to modern climatological scientific data, the temperature level to which global warming should be limited is 1.5 ° C.

In order to help the global private sector, set these science-based climate goals, the Science Based Target initiative was created in 2019 by the Driving Ambitious Corporate Climate Action in partnership with CDP, the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), the World Resources Institute (WRI), the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the We Mean Business coalition. Today, the SBTi initiative brings together more than 1,500 companies and is helping to mobilize the skills, experience and ingenuity of businesses to align their actions with the position of modern climate scientists and the Paris Climate Agreement, increasing competitive advantages in the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Climate change issues are among the most pressing aspects of the global sustainable development agenda and the highest priority issues for ESG investors. By joining the Climate Ambition Accelerator, companies will be able to:

- learn more about how to set science-based emission reduction targets to achieve climate neutrality by 2050;
- gain a clearer understanding of the SBTi and the concept of carbon neutrality, including information on relevant techniques, requirements, processes, benefits and applications;
- better understand how to motivate investors, management, various stakeholders by offering them your emissions reduction plan that will certainly make your company stand out in the market;
- get access to experts and new networking opportunities;
- study the materials of the accelerator, including upon request, in your own time and participate in discussions to exchange experiences and opinions in group sessions.

The program is implemented only in those countries where mature UNGC local networks can take responsibility for its implementation and engagement with participants.