In 2022, technological regulation of industrial pollution becomes mandatory for the “dirtiest” companies. In 2008, the reform of environmental regulation of industry based on the best available technologies was conceived as a tool to improve the environmental, technological and market efficiency of Russian companies, but so far it does not look successful and in some cases may even lead to the opposite effect – ineffective companies will receive support. On the eve of the launch of the active stage of reform and the preparation of the Russian Federation for the energy transition, the White House decided to test whether the best available technologies are good.
One of the main mistakes of the reform of environmental regulation of industry, which was repeatedly pointed out by observers, including representatives of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is that the choice of the best available technologies (BAT), in contrast to the practice of the OECD, from where this approach came to the Russian Federation, was left to the mercy of the companies themselves (see “Kommersant” of August 3, 2020). An example of the lobbying efforts of companies in the field of BAT was the reference book “Combustion of Fuel in Large Installations for Energy Production” adopted in 2017 for coal-fired TPPs – in it, even for new plants, the permissible emission values differ from European ones at times, and for some indicators – in dozens of times (see Kommersant dated October 30, 2020) and significantly exceed even the standards of GOST R 50831-95, issued back in 1995. Recent inspections by Rosprirodnadzor showed that “coal generating companies comply with BAT, and emissions are not decreasing,” a government source explained to Kommersant. Following the results of inspections by Rosprirodnadzor in September, Environmental Deputy Prime Minister Viktoria Abramchenko instructed the Ministry of Industry and Trade to update the directory, bringing it in line with GOST R 50831-95, and to include the head of Rosprirodnadzor Svetlana Rodionova in the working group of the departmental bureau of NDT, where decisions are made on recognizing technologies as “the best” …
The problem is quite common – the maximum indicators of pollutant emissions in Russian BAT reference books are significantly higher than in EU directives. At the same time, from 2022, the reform of environmental regulation, which began in 2008, should enter an active phase, and the “dirtiest” enterprises should begin to massively receive so-called integrated environmental permits. If the BAT indicators do not correspond to this, they will need a plan for the environmental modernization of production, however, due to the overestimated emission standards of Russian BAT in reference books, which are updated by law at least once every five years, enterprises will be able to avoid modernization and retain access to state support.
The White House’s interest in BAT was lulled by the protracted introduction of regulation and the pandemic, which forced the rationing reform to be withdrawn from the Ecology national project (see Kommersant on June 26, 2020), as well as by the failure of the technological rationing experiment at enterprises in 12 cities with the dirtiest air (see Kommersant on June 21). The return of the government’s attention to BAT was helped not only by the offensive of 2022, but also by the transition to carbon neutrality that had begun in the EU and the Russian Federation – according to Kommersant’s information, the topic of BAT was discussed at a major meeting with First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov on October 7, in the context of carbon regulation. As a result of this meeting, the head of the Ministry of Natural Resources Alexander Kozlov and Mrs. Rodionova were instructed to “take an active part” in the working groups, where directories are created and updated. Also, by November 7, the Ministry of Natural Resources must provide the Ministry of Industry and Trade with new indicators for updated reference books (it is not enough to comply with technological standards). At the same time, the Ministry of Industry and Trade should include in the reference books specific indicators of CO2 emissions by industry, propose areas for expanding the use of BAT and ensure monitoring of the transition to the new standardization. Thus, it is likely that after the next update, the best possible technologies will indeed remain in the BAT reference books. However, the head of the CSR, Vladislav Onishchenko, who participated in the meeting, did not rule out that, given the noticeable technological lag of the Russian Federation, not only the content of the reference books, but also the frequency of their updating, would need to be revised.
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