Steele: Climate change is causing severe damage to the Russian and global economy

“No country is immune from the effects of climate change, including the Russian Federation,” Steele added in his speech to participants in the “Future of Artificial Intelligence Governance” session at the East Economic Forum in Vladivostock.

He stressed that extreme heat waves, thawing permafrost and their effects, as well as large-scale floods, fires and hurricanes, severely damage businesses and raise prices, burdening governments, companies and families.

“These climate change disasters, and their increasing human and economic costs, are the result of humanity continuing to burn massive amounts of coal, oil and gas, which produces greenhouse gases that trap heat in our atmosphere,” Steele noted.

He added that global warming is also exacerbated by deforestation and damage to the seven oceans, which increases costs for all countries.

But he said: “With joint efforts we can make progress,” noting that Russia constantly participates in international climate cooperation under the auspices of the United Nations, including annual UN climate conferences.

“Continuing this active engagement is entirely in the interest of the Russian economy and the Russian people, because the economic benefits from the analytical shift are expanding rapidly,” he concluded.