At the base of RUP "Vitebskenergo", issues of climate change and greenhouse gas emission reduction were discussed

An extended field meeting of the Public Coordination Environmental Council (PCEC) under the Vitebsk Regional Committee for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection was dedicated to climate change and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

 

The discussion of this relevant topic took place at the RUP "Vitebskenergo" facility. The event was organized with the support of the project "Capacity Building for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading and Strengthening the Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification System in the Republic of Belarus," funded by the Global Environment Facility and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme in Belarus.

Dam as a Filter

Before the plenary session, an excursion was organized to the largest hydroelectric power station in Belarus – the Vitebsk HPP. It was built in five years by the Chinese corporation CNEEC, which operates worldwide. Commissioned in the summer of 2017, its capacity is 40 MW, with an annual electricity generation of about 138 million kWh. The facility is operated by 29 people.

The guests learned that the Vitebsk HPP not only generates energy from a renewable source but also serves as a unique purification filter for the Western Dvina River. Annually, the dam retains about 1000 cubic meters of debris. River workers assist in collecting it from the water surface, resulting in 10 barges. Sorting and disposal are handled by specialized organizations. Only plastic alone requires 8-9 long-haul MAZ trucks for removal. This highlights the issue of people's recreational culture on the banks of the transboundary river.

Strategy for Reduction

Welcoming the participants of the meeting, the Chairman of the Regional Committee for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection (before his appointment to the new position), Viktor Galanov, noted that human economic activity has a significant impact on climate change. The main culprits in this regard are greenhouse gas emissions, the quantity of which is growing every year.

According to a report by the World Meteorological Organization, in 2022, droughts, floods, and heatwaves affected the populations of all continents and resulted in multi-billion dollar losses. At the same time, specialists predict a rise in global temperatures to record levels within the next five years.

 

Currently, Belarus does not have statistical accounting of greenhouse gas emissions by region. However, a connection is noted between these emissions and the release of pollutants into the atmosphere. Over the past five years, annual indicators in the Vitebsk region have decreased by 21 thousand tons, facilitated by the optimization of technological processes and modernization at 181 production facilities in 123 organizations. Thus, the Vitebsk region contributes to achieving the national targets for greenhouse gas emission reduction undertaken by the Republic of Belarus within its international obligations. Viktor Galanov stated that, considering the above, enhancing the potential for greenhouse gas emission trading and strengthening the system for monitoring, reporting, and verification of emissions in Belarus are of strategic importance.

UNDP Project Coordinator Olga Chabrovskaya emphasized that many people do not fully realize the impact of climate change on individuals. However, we increasingly discuss the link between elevated air temperatures and the rise in the number of forest fires, floods, and heavy rains and downpours that can disable sewage systems. Regarding the ongoing international technical assistance project, Olga Chabrovskaya highlighted that trading carbon units, obtained from reducing greenhouse gas emissions, is an entire economic sector. It is necessary to be documentarily prepared to enter this market.

 

The ecological component of the new Concept of National Security of the Republic of Belarus was discussed by Tatiana Kononchuk, Head of the Main Department of Environmental Policy, International Cooperation and Science of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection. In particular, the document includes concepts such as improving the reliability of assessment and forecasts of the state of the natural environment, climate change, dangerous weather and climatic phenomena; adaptation of economic sectors to environmental changes; reduction of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere through the expanded use of renewable and rational-sustainable use of non-renewable energy sources; growth of greenhouse gas absorption as a result of increasing forest areas and rewetting of former peat extraction sites. Currently, forests occupy 40.1% of the territory of Belarus, and over the past ten years, more than 80 thousand hectares of peatlands have been rehabilitated.

Oksana Melnikovich, Deputy Head of the Department for Regulation of Impacts on the Atmospheric Air, Climate Change and Expertise of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, reported that the department is currently preparing a draft government resolution that will regulate the procedures and conditions for greenhouse gas emissions. The document will be aimed at establishing a reporting system for economic entities. Work is also underway on the Strategy for the Long-Term Development of the Republic of Belarus with Low Greenhouse Gas Emissions until 2050. Corresponding measures for the development of industry, energy, transport, construction, and the housing and communal services sector will be provided.

Representatives of enterprises and organizations, businesses, and public ecologists took part in the meeting of the ECOS.