Events
Belarusian senator participates in IPU Assembly general debates
Photo courtesy of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus
MINSK, 23 March (BelTA) – Chairman of the International Affairs and National Security Commission of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus Sergei Rachkov made a speech at the plenary session of the 144th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the press service of the upper chamber of the Belarusian parliament told BelTA. The Assembly’s theme is Getting to Zero: Mobilizing Parliaments to Act on Climate Change.
Since many delegates and invitees spoke at length about the situation in Ukraine, Sergei Rachkov remarked: “We were confused by the attempt of one IPU member state to add an extraordinary item to the assembly’s agenda – Belarus’ alleged participation in events in Ukraine, which does not reflect the actual situation.”
The senator stressed: “We feel pain about the situation in the neighboring country because three million residents of Belarus died during World War Two. We believe that an act of genocide of the Belarusian people was committed.”
Sergei Rachkov informed delegates about the practical steps Belarus’ leadership takes for the sake of a peaceful resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and about the initiatives Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko has put forward in favor of launching the global dialogue on security Helsinki 2 and forming “a digital good neighborhood belt” by means of signing international information security agreements.
“We are not heard and are openly ignored. In this situation parliamentarians and representatives of international organizations must speak up,” the senator concluded.
In the context of the theme of general debates Sergei Rachkov spoke at length about Belarus’ efforts to transition to a low-carbon sustainable economy for the sake of preventing global warming and alleviating consequences of climate change.
Sergei Rachkov said Belarus was one of the first European countries and the world’s 30th country to ratify the Paris Agreement and has started its realization. Belarus has undertaken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 by at least 35% in comparison with 1990 using purely its own resources. A national action plan on realizing provisions of the Paris Agreement has been adopted. It contains both legislative and practical measures.
The senator described the national laws and regulations on climate change problems: “Strategic planning documents in the area of environmental protection, geology development, and exploitation of mineral resources are in effect. Laws have been passed on the protection of atmospheric air, on renewable energy sources, on energy saving in addition to other legal instruments. Matters of green manufacturing, industrial symbiosis, resource-effective manufacturing, circular business models, and the development of a closed-loop economy are reflected by the new national action plan on developing green economy in the Republic of Belarus in 2021-2055.”
“Belarus is also considering more ambitious goals the country could reach if Western countries stop economic pressure and provide assistance with the transfer of cutting-edge knowledge and technologies and assistance with climate investments,” the senator concluded.
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