These discussions involved Mr. Azali Assoumani, the Chairman of the African Union and the President of the Union of the Comoros Islands, Dr. Gayo Asherbir, the President of the Pan-African Parliament, and Mr. William Ruto, the President of Kenya and Chair of the Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change.
The primary focus of these dialogues was the implementation of Nature-Based Solutions, or NBS, aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions by either preventing them in natural landscapes or enhancing their absorption in Africa.
During the meetings, Melnichenko also proposed the establishment of a dedicated UN body to champion NBS projects, highlighting the pivotal role that a collaboration between Russia and African nations could play in the success of this proposed initiative. He also emphasized the substantial potential inherent in NBS, asserting that achieving the Paris Climate Agreement objectives hinges on harnessing the power of natural ecosystems.
The envisioned UN body, as per his perspective, has the potential to serve as a catalyst for fostering partnerships and expediting the widespread implementation of Nature-Based Solutions on a global scale.
The prevailing scientific hypothesis attributes climate warming to the escalating concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The annual emissions from the Earth's surface tally up to around 860 gigatonnes (Gt) in CO2 equivalent. However, only 56Gt of these emissions, or just six percent, can be attributed to human economic activities while the remaining 94 percent come from natural landscapes, encompassing soil, plant decay, natural fires, swamps, and the expansive world oceans.
NBS projects—ranging from enhanced forest management and savannah restoration to fire prevention and tundra greening, specifically designed to counter permafrost thaw— have the potential of curtailing net emissions by 10-18 Gt of CO2 equivalent annually. This figure represents nearly one-third of all anticipated global anthropogenic emissions by 2050. According to scientific calculations, the broader implementation of nature-based solutions on both land and in the ocean boasts an astounding potential, exceeding 150 Gt of CO2 equivalent per year.
The Andrey Melnichenko Foundation is financing in Russia a Pleistocene Park which is located in the Northern Yakutia in Siberia. The researchers at Pleistocene Park propose an innovative approach to combat climate change, asserting that grazing animals like Yakut horses and Kalmyk cows—current inhabitants of the park—can play a crucial role. These animals are believed to facilitate the growth of plants that absorb more CO2, thereby mitigating the heat absorbed by the Earth.
The Pleistocene Park is well-known in the world of bioscience. Its partnership with international scientific centers was aimed at exploring ambitious projects, including the resurrection of a woolly mammoth—an endeavor that encapsulates both scientific curiosity and the quest for innovative solutions to environmental challenges.
Andrey Melnichenko, who made his fortune in fertilizers, is listed currently as Russia's richest man, according to Forbes, with an estimated net worth of $25.2 billion. He is a member of the Bureau of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs' (RSPP) Board and heads Bureau's Climate Change and Carbon Regulation Committee. His main focus is achieving the commitments made by Russia under the Paris Climate Agreement and participation in the international dialogue. Since mid-2022 Andrey Melnichenko also represented RSPP internationally on food security issues.
