Questions to President from Greenpeace

Feature story - 18 December, 2003
First television channel, December, 18, 12.00

The Kremlin

Q: Do you consider the collapse of environmental system to be your mistake or your merit? If a mistake, you should confess and correct it. If a merit, you should speak of it without disguise so that the environmental community had neither illusions nor expectations.

(author - Elena Korshunova, the head of the state nature biosphere reserve "Kerzhensky")

Q: Do you find forest privatization rightful?

Q: You declared the aim of doubling the gross domestic product by 2008. According to foreign experience, any GDP growth leads to the proportional growth of waste volumes. What steps will be undertaken to prevent it?

Q: What are you going to undertake to modernize Russian industry in order to introduce non-waste and resource-saving technologies and principles of clean production?

Q: Today Russia is protracting the decision on the Kyoto Protocol ratification. Are you going to promote the ratification in 2004?

Q: Is Russia going to impose a moratorium on introduction of transgenous plants into environment?

Q: Will the government fund, with President's approval, the nuclear energy industry in the same volume (up to 10 billion roubles a year) (thanks to undertaking of a price for the storage of nuclear waste underfunding is 1.3 billion roubles a year).

Q: Will the benefits for people who live in 30 km zone around NPSs be restored? Does the President support the plan of the Ministry of Nuclear Power to construct 60 new reactors?

Q: Is the government going to create favourable conditions for introduction of projects on energy-saving and alternative energy sources?