French-Russian Forum on Sustainable Development

6 September 2021

6 September 2021

September 6th, the first French-Russian Forum on Sustainable Development was held at the initiative of the Russian Trade Representation in France. The event was organized with the support of MGIMO University and the Trianon Dialogue together with the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, MEDEF International, the French group CIFAL, and the Climate Partnership of Russia.

Opening the event, Ambassador of Russia to France Aleksey Meshkov noted that the Forum would bring bilateral climate cooperation to a new level while Ambassador of France to Russia Pierre Levy highlighted the areas of potential cooperation in the fight against global warming.

Rector of MGIMO and co-Chair of the Trianon Dialogue Anatoly Torkunov emphasized that climate has become an integral part of the discussions between professional communities in Russia and France. He also told the Forum’s participant how the Trianon Dialogue helped make these discussions more considerable through such initiatives as the Russian-French Forum on Clean Technologies, the Russian-French Youth Climate Dialogue, the session “Sustainable Development on the Agenda for Multilateral Institutions” at the SPIEF 2021, the Trianon Startups Forum at Versailles, and other projects.

According to Alexander Shokhin, President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, sustainable development is one of the priorities of the Russian business, which is actively involved in the development of environmental regulatory framework consistent with international standards, paying special attention to the implementation of ESG principles.

Frédéric Sanchez, President of MEDEF International, presented the cases of successful cooperation between French and Russian companies in decarbonizing the economy.

Dmitriy Kurochkin, Vice-President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, focused on the role of chambers of commerce and industry in the promotion and implementation of the climate agenda.

The sections of the Forum were devoted to low-carbon industry, waste management, green energy, sustainable transport, interaction between government agencies, sustainable consumption, sustainable and green finance.

Among the participants were the representatives of the business community and government, which allowed for a meaningful dialogue. They included the heads of such companies as Rusal, TotalEnergies, Gazprombank, Russian Railways, Metalloinvest, Saint-Gobain, Gaussin, SUEZ, Engie, Air Liquide, SNCF, Dassault Systèmes, X5 Retail Group and many others, as well as the leaders and heads of relevant departments of the ministries of foreign affairs, energy, environment, economy and industry of both countries. The representatives of chambers of commerce and industry and associations of the two countries shared their expert opinion.

The Trianon Dialogue partners, including French Ambassador for Climate Stéphane Cruz, CEO of the clean technology platform Ksetek Stanislas Henrion, and others, actively participated in the Forum.

Addressing the audience, President of the All Russian Insurance Association and Research Director of the MGIMO Center for Sustainable Development Igor Yurgens shared the plans for the development of the Center and assessed the prospects for cooperation between Russia and France in the field of green finance.

You can find the broadcast on the MGIMO Youtube channel:

• Room I: Russian / French
• Room II: Russian / French