WWF Praises Contribution of Russian Diplomacy to Paris Climate Deal

Paris climate agreement is a triumph of Russian diplomacy, in particular, since many of its provisions have been initiated by the Russian negotiators, the head of WWF Russia's Climate and Energy Program said.

PARIS (Sputnik) – On Saturday, nearly 200 negotiators agreed to curb emissions beyond 2020 and fuel the transition toward a clean energy world economy after two weeks of tough negotiations.

"I think it is a victory of Russian diplomacy, in particular. Firstly, the agreement pays much attention to forests that has originally been our position. Secondly, Russia managed to achieve complete universality in terms of the pact’s scope, a single mechanism for sustainable development for all countries, both developed and developing," Alexei Kokorin told RIA Novosti.

The 31-page accord commits countries to hold global average temperatures to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius (35.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels and urges them to "pursue efforts" to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.