On May 19, 2021, within the framework of St. Petersburg International Legal Forum the International and Comparative Law Research Center held a discussion session "Climate Change Regulations: Global Practice and Perspectives".
Ekaterina Salugina-Sorokvaya (General Director of the International and Comparative Law Research Center), Sergey Shvetsov (First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia), Enric Sala (world-renowned ecologist and founder of the Pristine Seas project), and Caroline May (Head of Environment, Health and Safety (Europe, Middle East and Asia), Norton Rose Fulbright LLP) discussed key trends in the field of climate regulation, future regulatory solutions, as well as various types of potential risks caused by global warming.
Ekaterina Salugina-Sorokovaya, the ICLRC General Director, in her welcome speech drew attention to the fact that environmental protection is a key value reference point of modern society and the law is at the epicenter of ongoing changes, setting a vector for their development. She noted that the Center closely monitors the development of "climate" regulation in various countries and stressed the high involvement of society — especially the younger generation. "I think the recent German court decision is indicative. The German Constitutional Court has declared the German federal law on climate protection unconstitutional in the lawsuit of the children's movement Fridays For Future. The Constitutional Court agreed with the plaintiffs that it is their generation that will have to bear the consequences of the current climate regulation, and ordered the German government to make appropriate changes until 2022," Ekaterina said She also spoke about the trend when the state encourages society to become more involved in the environmental agenda: "For example, in China, remuneration is provided for persons who report violations of climate or environmental legislation. Moreover, the Chinese government expects that the corporate strategies of enterprises will include measures to combat climate change." Other important trends in the regulation of the climate agenda, according to Ekaterina, are the voluntary initiation by corporate players of changes in their strategies towards greater "greenness", as well as the active development of stimulating legislation in the field of"green investments".
