05.10.2011 | News
The Russian government signed on Tuesday an agreement allocating up to EUR 10 million to the implementation of Arctic Council’s priority projects.
The funds will be channelled into the Arctic Council’s Project Support Instrument (PSI), which is administered by NEFCO. The purpose of the PSI, which was established by the Arctic Council in 2005, is to finance pollution preventing initiatives in the Arctic region.
The Russian government agreed to the financial package at a meeting in Moscow on Tuesday. The agreement means that Russia is now the biggest financial contributor to the Arctic Council’s PSI. The Arctic Council PSI is a voluntary financing instrument open to contributions from the Arctic Council members, observers and other interested parties.
“We want the Arctic to be clean. The Russian Federation has launched an extensive clean-up initiative to address environmental legacies impacting the Arctic. We have 194 hotspots in all Russian territory including the Arctic to address and we welcome cooperation with NEFCO, not only on financing of the Arctic initiatives but also on exchange of knowledge and opinions, and appropriate technology transfer”, expressed the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation, Yuri Trutnev.
“We are extremely delighted with the fact that the Russian government is taking an active role in supporting environmental protection in the Arctic region. The financial boost provided under this agreement will enable us to finance a wide range of environmental projects in the Russian Arctic within the near future”, said NEFCO’s Managing Director, Magnus Rystedt.
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