News
Publish date: November 21, 2005
News
Members of the Duma have been concerned of late about air pollution in big Russian cities. They put an offer on the table to substitute petroleum with environmentally clean fuel, raise taxes on old cars and forbid import of second-hand cars to reduce smog and dirty air.
According to the committee chairman, Vladimir Grachev, 60 percent of the Russian population lives in high level air pollution. Deputies of the State Duma see two main reasons for ecological crises in big cities: strong run-out of vehicles and the low quality petroleum produced in Russia.
Deputies have offered to toughen legislation governing oil refineries and to make operation of environmentally unfriendly vehicles expensive.
Following Kazakhstan’s country-wide vote in favor of building a nuclear power plant earlier this month, Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom has begun a courtship of officialdom in Astana, the country’s capital, in apparent hopes of landing a contract to construct it.
A survey of events in the field of nuclear and radiation safety relating to Russia and Ukraine.
Kazakhstan voted in a referendum last weekend on whether to build its first nuclear power plant, and an exit poll showed voters backed the idea promoted by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's cabinet in an effort to phase out coal plants.
In this news digest, we monitor events that impact the environment in the Russian Arctic. Our focus lies in identifying the factors that contribute to pollution and climate change.