Belarus’ progress in building green economy hailed

Belarus will soon join the ranks of the countries with green economy success stories, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Belarus to Finland Alexander Ostrovsky said in an interview with the Ensto Today Magazine, BelTA learned from the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus.

The diplomat noted that Belarus began the systemic work in this direction not so long ago. But the process is already well under way, and there are positive results.

"The hardest thing, as it has turned out, is to convince business entities that it is important to switch to the “green economy” principles, that it meets the needs of society and provides long-term benefits, although it does not fit into the logic of economic benefits. Ultimately, the economy that does not take environmental aspects into account becomes cost-ineffective,” the Ambassador said.

He stressed that Belarus continues to develop the “green economy” management system which will replace the industrially-oriented administrative-economic system.

"Belarus intends to participate actively in building a secure and sustainable future for next generations. We see the "green economy" as an integral part of sustainable development and take effective measures to implement the environmental principles into the Belarusian economy,” said Alexander Ostrovsky.

He recalled that Belarus has been affected the worst by the Chernobyl disaster. Therefore the country is well aware that the "green economy" provides a unique opportunity to secure long-term favorable development for the benefit of the Belarusian people and in the interest of the international community.

The Ambassador drew attention to the fact that thanks to the modernization of the country’s major industrial enterprises, tougher environmental laws and restrictions on air emissions, the amount of harmful emissions has been reduced in the largest industrial centers of Belarus. However, individual cases of elevated levels of harmful substances in the air are still registered sometimes. The country has managed to reduce the emissions from stationary sources by pursuing the coherent environmental policy, including by increasing the environmental tax on harmful emissions.

According to him, the use of progressive technologies and energy saving measures has helped achieve positive results.

The diplomat noted that currently the Belarusian government is analyzing the tasks associated with the adoption of state obligations to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.

"One of the most complex areas of the protection of the environment in Belarus is waste management, especially industrial and municipal solid waste. The share of packaging waste in urban waste has increased significantly in recent years. Belarus has five waste treatment plants that recycle urban wastes into secondary raw materials: in Gomel, Mogilev, Novopolotsk, Brest and Baranovichi. However, we should also take note of the positive trend: since 2005 the amount of recycled hazardous wastes in Belarus exceeds the volume of newly-created waste,” Alexander Ostrovsky said.