Putin and Kozlov Environmental review

Jun 3, 2025

The published June 3 meeting recording preserves Putin's questions and Kozlov's full environmental report. Kozlov says climate change is accelerating desertification, changing water regimes and increasing heat waves; he places Russia's 2024 summer among its five hottest in 45 years. He explains shifting tree species, threats to forest productivity and different timber-processing needs, reports first-time 2025 reporting on forestry adaptation plans, and answers Putin that changes are already visible, citing fires in northern Yakutia and satellite monitoring. He also reports fulfilled firefighting-funding instructions, including additional support for Krasnoyarsk and Transbaikalia. On municipal waste, Kozlov reports 55% sent for processing, 14% recovered and landfill burial down 17%. More than 300 facilities have been built, but another 400 are needed by 2030 at nearly one trillion rubles from budgetary and other sources; only part of the funding is available. He describes weekly regional coordination, shortages of 129,000 collection sites and 350,000 containers, leasing support, and delivery of 532 specialized vehicles and 32,000 containers to Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. For Clean Air's 41 cities, he says the 2017 baseline based on Rusal, Evraz and MMK reports was understated and is being reviewed with Rosprirodnadzor. He cites 585 measures for the original 12 cities, seven completed plans for the additional cities and another 22 promised by July. He reports Norilsk Nickel's Sulphur Programme facility built and claimed investment of 180 billion rubles, distinguishing verified technical effectiveness from actual emissions reductions still to be measured. He also mentions Severstal and PhosAgro in Cherepovets. Putin calls for consistent state action and compliance with environmental directives. Kozlov says a penalties bill has passed its first Duma reading and still needs finalization, illustrating the incentive with an unnamed Krasnoyarsk enterprise's 1.2-billion-ruble investment need versus a prospective five-billion-ruble fine. He says work in the 29 additional cities will also cover utilities, energy, private housing and roads. Finally, Kozlov says 126 wastewater plants were built, 19 missed deadlines, and only 20 of those inspected met standards. He lists delayed facilities by region and describes individual road maps and work with governors and the Construction Ministry. The relationship between the reported construction and delay totals is not clarified, and no compliant total beyond his stated 20 is inferred. These remain the speakers' reports, assessments and commitments.

At the June 3 meeting, Putin says favorable conditions for environmental investment never simply arrive and calls for consistent state action and compliance with directives and plans. Kozlov says a pollution-penalties bill has passed its first Duma reading but still needs finalization. He contrasts an unnamed Krasnoyarsk company's 1.2-billion-ruble modernization requirement with a prospective five-billion-ruble fine and says the 29 additional Clean Air cities also require work on utilities, energy, private housing and roads. Vremya's retelling identifies the proposed penalties as revenue-linked and stresses preserving major employers while improving residents' environment. The exchange announces no enacted bill, actual fine or newly dated parliamentary vote.