On December 12, at 11.00, the Valdai Discussion Club will host an expert discussion dedicated to climate change issues.

       Since December 2, Katowice, Poland is hosting an annual UN Climate Change Conference. This year, the discussion focuses on the fate of 2015 Paris Agreement regulating the pollution of the atmosphere with carbon dioxide. UN Secretary-General António Guterres asserted that this agreement has no alternatives. At the same time, US President Donald Trump declared the US’s withdrawal from it, thus aggravating the relations between America and the EU countries on the issue. Russia, in turn, has also not ratified the Paris Agreement yet: a report on the advisability of this document’s ratification by the country will be prepared only next year. Today, climate issues are at the center of a serious political struggle at the global level.

       What are the prospects of the Paris Agreement? Will Western countries be able to find a compromise solution? What are the pros and cons of the Paris Agreement for Russia? These and many other questions will be discussed by our experts.

       Speakers:

       Clive Hamilton, Professor of public ethics at Charles Sturt University in Canberra (via video link)

       Alexey Kokorin, Director of the Climate and Energy Programme of World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Russia

       Ekaterina Savorskaya, Assistant professor, School of World Politics, MSU

       Moderator:

       Oleg Barabanov, Programme Director of the Valdai Discussion Club

       Working languages: Russian, English.

       Information for the media! To attend, please fill out the accreditation form or call +7 926 930 77 63.

       Information for participants! If you have any questions, please call +7 926 638 86 37