VZCZCXRO1945
RR RUEHLN RUEHSK RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHMO #3693/01 3570424
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 220424Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1273
RUEAEPA/HQ EPA WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHCP/AMEMBASSY COPENHAGEN 1614
RUEHVK/AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK 3049
RUEHYG/AMCONSUL YEKATERINBURG 3406
RUEHLN/AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG 5165

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MOSCOW 003693 
 
DEPT FOR OES/ENV 
DEPT PASS TO AID 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV ECON ETRD SOCI EAID PGOV RS
SUBJECT: IN MOSCOW, GREEN CONSCIOUSNESS SLOWLY TAKING ROOT 
 
MOSCOW 00003693  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
THIS CABLE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  PLEASE PROTECT 
ACCORDINGLY. 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  Slowly but surely, green practices are taking 
root in Moscow.  Even the most ardent of Moscow's capitalist 
consumerists can no longer ignore the region's rapid environmental 
degradation as the once fish-chock streams and mushroom-rich forests 
that attracted flocks to build mini-mansions outside the city turn 
into seemingly unredeemable cesspools and unofficial dumps. 
Overfilling landfills concern some, increased interaction with the 
better environmental conditions and practices of "green" Europeans 
spurs others, while saving money interests almost everyone. 
Astounding rates of energy consumption by buildings prompt 
commercial developers to consider the energy reductions of 
sustainable design.  EST explored two areas where Moscow's greening 
should, in theory, be easiest to implement: waste management and 
energy efficient buildings.  END SUMMARY. 
 
Three Options to Relieve Overflowing Moscow Landfills 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶2. (U) With the 20 active landfills in the Moscow area at or close 
to capacity, Moscow city authorities and environmental groups are 
actively exploring how to manage the approximately 24 million tons 
of solid waste that Muscovites and businesses in Moscow produce 
annually (as of 2008): 
 
-- Few advocate transporting waste to landfills outside the city 
because transportation is too expensive. 
 
-- The Moscow city government proposed building nine incinerator 
plants in the Moscow area by 2015 to burn waste.  Environmentalists 
publicly opposed this option, arguing that incinerators discharge as 
many as 24 different hazardous pollutants into the atmosphere. 
According to Greenpeace, installing nine incinerator plants will 
cost nearly $2.7 billion (75.5 billion rubles), and still leave 12 
percent of the waste to be disposed. 
 
-- Greenpeace favors sorting and recycling plants, which would cost 
no more than $2 billion (55 billion rubles) and leave only 4 percent 
of the waste in Moscow.  In 2008, Moscow city authorities announced 
a plan to set up eight recycling facilities in each district of the 
city by 2012, which would double the Moscow's recycling capacity. 
In addition, there are currently 2,000 machines around Moscow that 
exchange empty cans for cash.  But at only 1 cent (30 kopeks) per 
can, the only people who seem motivated to deposit cans are the 
homeless. 
 
So What Happens to Waste? 
------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) There are three waste management companies in Moscow, all 
controlled by the Moscow city government, that collect, sort, 
process, and transport large quantities of waste.  Most waste 
management organizations in Moscow only perform one of these stages. 
 The Embassy has contracted with a semi-private company, 
Moreservices, since 1993 to transport and sort the 19,500 cubic 
meters of waste the Embassy community produces annually. 
Moreservices, registered in Delaware, was created in 2001 through a 
merger of the Moscow city government residential waste management 
organization and a private company that transported industrial 
waste.  Moscow city authorities license Moreservices, appoint and 
supervise some of its officials, and set pollution limits with which 
it must comply. 
 
¶4. (SBU) On November 25, Andrey Kakhanov, General Contractor for 
Moreservices, guided EST intern and a GSO employee through 
Moreservices's northern Moscow waste processing facility where the 
Embassy's and other industrial trash is received.  Moreservices 
processes approximately 60,000 tons of waste per year, or 180 tons 
per day.  As he led them through the cavernous, dimly lit warehouse, 
Kakhanov noted that although it covers an entire city block, the 
warehouse is not big enough to deal with the current volume of 
waste.  His point was proven by the twenty-foot-high pyramids of 
unsorted waste that covered the entire facility.  Approximately five 
non-ethnic Russian employees, wearing no protective gear, 
hand-sorted pieces of wood, cardboard, and plastic to be pressed 
into blocks.  They placed the remaining items on a conveyor belt 
from which five additional employees hand-sorted paper, aluminum, 
glass, and plastic bottles into separate compartments for compacting 
into blocks.  The waste blocks are transported to a landfill or 
 
MOSCOW 00003693  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
recycling facility every two weeks.  The remaining 30 percent of 
waste is then ground in a separation drum to compress and extract 
compostable matter.  The compressed waste is transported to a 
landfill. 
 
¶5. (U) Although Moreservices recycles 50-60 percent of the 
industrial waste it collects, it can only recycle 5-10 percent of 
the residential waste.  Large pieces of industrial waste are easier 
to separate and transport.  Residential waste is often soiled, 
difficult to sort, and not substantial enough to be worth the cost 
of transporting it regularly to a sorting facility.  Moreservices 
sends glass to the Moscow Electric Bulb Plant to be recycled into 
light bulbs.  Paper products are recycled into cardboard, toilet 
paper, or paper and fabrics for construction.  Unsoiled metal and 
plastic are used for food packaging, and soiled material is often 
used for industrial or construction purposes. 
 
¶6. (U) If it had not been for the financial crisis, Kakhanov had 
hoped to build cardboard and polymer recycling facilities and 
construct another waste sorting complex.  Moreservices has installed 
machines for compressing waste on-site at some industries such as 
the large grocery stores Auchan and Metro to expedite their waste 
sorting and collection.  Employees are trained to use the machines, 
and companies are given discounts for using them. 
 
Green Buildings Potential Source of Huge Savings 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶7. (U) The comprehensive World Bank Group September 2008 study 
"Energy Efficiency in Russia: Untapped Reserves" 
(http://www.ifc.org/ifcext/ rsefp.nsf/AttachmentsByTitle/ 
FINAL_EE_report_Engl.pdf/ $FILE/Final_EE_report_engl.pdf) grabbed 
headlines with its findings that Russia can save 45 percent of its 
total primary energy consumption and that Russia's current energy 
inefficiency is equal to the annual primary energy consumption of 
France.  The study highlighted that the most significant barriers to 
energy efficiency in residential housing relate to building 
standards, public behavior, and difficulties in organizing and 
financing energy efficiency improvements in common areas.  Declaring 
that strong GOR leadership is needed to attract energy efficiency 
investment, the study recommended that the GOR create a dedicated 
energy efficiency agency to develop and implement a comprehensive 
energy efficiency policy for Russia and start collecting reliable 
statistics.  The study listed several low-cost measures the GOR can 
take to deliver rapid results and increase political support, 
including launching an energy efficiency information awareness 
campaign, issuing flexible budgeting and procurement rules in public 
organizations, and transforming municipal heat suppliers into 
commercial entities. 
 
¶8. (U) Energy costs in Russia, though growing, are still 
artificially low.  At the October 29 Green Buildings Conference 
organized by Carrier Corporation, EST intern and Foreign Commercial 
Service staff learned about new directions for energy efficiency in 
Russian commercial development and how green buildings' sustainable 
design reduces the amount of energy buildings consume, currently at 
a staggering 40 percent of all of Russia's energy consumption.  Like 
the World Bank study, experts at Carrier's conference stressed that 
systemic government support in the form of subsidies for energy 
efficient green buildings and renewable energy, standards, and 
regulations is very important.  Experts noted that past subsidies 
for cheap energy sources such as coal inhibited the development of 
ecologically friendly technology and more expensive energy sources. 
 
NGO Action Good; Government Action Essential and Beginning 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Greenpeace Russia's campaign director Ivan Blokov told EST 
that it is crucial for the Russian government (GOR) to enforce 
energy regulations and observe them itself.  He has been arguing for 
the introduction of strict regulations for energy consumption and 
tax benefits for green initiatives.  Although a range of regulations 
have been adopted by the Moscow City authorities, the federal 
government has not initiated similar action at the national level. 
Yevgeniy Shvarts, Director of Conservation Policy at the World 
Wildlife Federation (WWF), would include on his list of the top five 
environmental issues in Russia the GOR's lack of clear goals for 
energy efficiency and environmental policy.  It is so important that 
WWF is getting more involved in such issues as waste management in 
order to reduce Russia's environmental footprint. 
 
 
MOSCOW 00003693  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶10. (U) Moreservices' Kakhanov expressed appreciation for 
environmental organizations like Greenpeace and WWF that work 
towards a cleaner and more balanced environment, commenting that it 
is crucial for someone to ask the hard questions about environmental 
standards.  But in order for there to be significant change, he 
argued, the government, private, and non-profit sectors must also be 
involved.  Kakhanov and other contacts were unanimous: because 
Russian businesses take their lead from the government, decisive 
government action is essential.  In addition, waste management 
companies and ordinary citizens will only go green if they have an 
economic benefit in doing so. 
 
¶11. (U) President Medvedev has rolled out several green initiatives. 
 Calling for an action plan to halve Russia's energy intensity by 
2020, he hosted a June 3 conference at the Kremlin at which 
ministers, agency heads, and select NGO representatives discussed 
sustainable environment and energy efficiency.  While emphasizing 
the negative effect of substandard environmental conditions and the 
dangerous levels of pollution on Russia's economic competitiveness, 
Medvedev called for industrial regulations, waste limits, and 
standards for water, air, and soil quality.  Importantly, the 2009 
budget includes funds for energy efficiency projects, 
environmentally clean production technologies, and the incorporation 
of environmental curriculum into education standards. 
 
¶12. (U) Deputy Department Director Mikhail Travkin of the Ministry 
of Natural Resources and Ecology told Carrier conference attendees 
that his Ministry is working on standards.  Gennadiy Smaga of the 
Federal Agency on Science and Innovation outlined the stages Russia 
needs to pass through to adopt green technology.  First, the GOR 
must establish, monitor, and enforce regulations and establish a 
standardized national plan for utilizing energy efficient 
technology.  Then, manufacturers must develop the capacity to use 
green technology efficiently.  Finally, the GOR must promote the 
benefits of green technology to consumers and in turn stimulate 
market demand for green products. 
 
¶13. (SBU) Comment: Russia has two of the elements it needs to make 
real progress in "greening": growing government commitment to 
introduce greater energy efficiency and improved standards, and a 
burgeoning public concern about the deteriorating environment. 
Non-governmental organizations can play a critical role in helping 
to advance public understanding and action.  But aggressive 
environmental advocacy is risky.  Activist Mikhail Beketov has faced 
continuous and escalating pressure since he began using his one-man 
newspaper in 2007 to protest plans to clear part of the 2,400-acre 
Khimki forest northwest of Moscow for a new highway linking Moscow 
and St. Petersburg.  On November 13, he was found brutally beaten 
and was hospitalized, in a coma, and his right leg amputated.  End 
Comment. 
 
BEYRLE