Moscow’s projects win Green Eurasia awards
Eco-friendly projects developed by Moscow’s Department of Transport and Road Infrastructure Development, Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection and Department of Economic Policy and City Development are announced award winners at the Green Eurasia international climate competition. The award ceremony took place in Yerevan, Armenia, on October 1 as part of the 3 rd Eurasian Economic Forum 2024. The organizers received over 300 applications in all from many countries and reviewed projects in 15 categories. The Moscow-born solutions were highly praised by both the Expert Board and the Presidium. Moreover, it is worth noting that all of them are successfully used in the Russian capital or directly affect the preservation of a favorable living environment in the megacity and environmental protection.
Launching electric boats and promoting electric cars
Two Moscow transport projects were announced the best at the Green Eurasia competition. The scheduled electric transport project won the first place award in the Green Transport. Since launch of electric boat services last year, this type of transport has become very popular with both Muscovites and tourists, with more than 1.3 million trips made on the two routes, namely, Kiyevskiy — Fili Park and ZIL — Pechatniki, their total length exceeding 20 kilometers. The launch of year-round electric boat services has increased transport accessibility for a total of 1.5 million people. To provide passenger service, the authorities arranged 18 Moskva River floating docks with a diameter of 10 meters and 16 meters accommodating up to 40 and 80 people, respectively, the most popular berths including Kiyevskiy, Heart of the Capital, Fili Park, Pechatniki, City-Central, and ZIL. Meanwhile, they are going to expand infrastructure by launching even more berths, five scheduled services to be added by 2030; almost the entire water area of the Moskva River will be navigable, as a result.
The citywide electric car and charging infrastructure project called Energy of Moscow was a runner-up in the Green Transport category as the local authorities are largely encouraging residents to switch to personal electric cars by offering a range of benefits and expanding related infrastructure. More than 240 free charging stations have been installed in the capital as part of Energy of Moscow, while electric car owners are exempt from paying transport tax and can park free of charge throughout the city.
All charging stations are located at the most busy locations, such as shopping malls, business centers, parks, residential buildings, cafes, and stores. By 2030, there will be 30,000 charging stations in Russia’s capital, and the number of electric vehicles in Moscow is expected to grow up to 320,000, i.e., 7 per cent of the total car number. The authorities will also arrange taxi and car sharing hubs to be capable of charging 10 to 15 cars at a time.
Supporting urban resilience and efficiency of green technologies
This year, two developments by the Moscow Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection also win Green Eurasia awards. The project for comprehensive plan to improve the megacity resilience in the face of climate change won the Climate Resilient Cities category. It includes a scientifically based three-track framework aimed at increasing sustainability of urban infrastructure, maintaining the health of residents and preserving green spaces.
The plan is based on forecast more frequent and adverse weather conditions, so it is designed to help better prepare for related potential impacts. It also involves a scenario approach to select the most effective and cost-efficient adaptation steps. The project presents a detailed climate risk matrix for the city, for example, what specific impact extreme heat, freezing rain, stormy winds, sudden temperature changes, etc. may produce on utility systems (e. g., heating, electricity, water supply and sanitation networks). Dangerous weather events are forecast for the period up to 2040, and the local authorities can therefore do detailed economic estimations for each of the systems. The project is in fact in full swing in Moscow, its core adaptation actions covered by the government-supported city development programs.
The project Energy and Environmental Audit of Green Technologies in Construction in the Moscow Region was awarded the second place award in Green Construction. It involves monitoring and evaluation of energy-saving and environmentally friendly technologies used in the construction sector. The audit aims to build a framework for analyzing energy efficiency and environmental impact of buildings. The authorities created a directory of green solutions that were specifically adapted to the Moscow Region’s climate. It shows achieved results of technology implementation, based on actual data and evaluation of completed projects. Builders are offered a wide range of ready-made solutions with varying degrees of efficiency, in addition to detailed calculations of payback periods for each technology. All of the developments will be implemented in urban construction.
Comparing the climate in cities around the world and concern for energy comfort
Two projects from the Moscow Department of Economic Policy and Development were also Green Eurasia awardees.
The analytical report The Climate Agenda for World Cities, the third runner-up in National Climate Strategies and Practices, examines key issues of the urban economy in terms of its impact on the climate (e. g., energy, transport, waste and green spaces) and existing strategic climate policies. The report was submitted to Green Eurasia as an analytical tool to help executive authorities develop public climate policies at the municipal and regional levels.
The Big City Comfort: Switching Thermal Loads as the Basis for Moscow’s Energy Efficiency project (a joint application with Mosenergo) won in the Low-Carbon Energy category.
This is a project to switch heat loads from boiler houses to combined heat and power plants engaged in combined heat and power generation mode (cogeneration), thus reducing GHG and pollutant emissions and increasing efficiency of the municipal heating and energy system as a whole.
The Green Eurasia international climate competition has been held since 2023 by the Agency for Strategic Initiatives to Promote New Projects jointly with the Eurasian Economic Commission. Its goal is to find effective climate practices aimed at sustainable development and adaptation to climate change in EAEU and other countries. The award-winner project teams will receive recommendations for replicating their developments.
In 2023, projects created by Moscow’s departments were named the best, as well. The Green Financing category was won Green Bonds of the Moscow Government (exchange issue 2021) proposed by Moscow Department of Economic Policy and Development. In Efficient Waste Management, the winner was the project Moscow Digital Control System for Construction Waste Handling (AIS OSSiG), which was developed by the Department of Information Technologies. Employed in Moscow since October 2020, the digital control system for the disposal of construction waste (OSSiG AIS) is an essential part of the unified digital platform of Moscow’s construction industry. The project helps the city track the movement of special equipment with construction waste and ensure that soil and remaining construction materials are taken to waste handling facilities.
In 2023, Mosgortrans’s Moscow Electric Bus project won the Low-Carbon Transport category.
Initiated five years ago, this time the Eurasian Economic Forum was held in Yerevan on September 30 — October 1 chaired by Armenia, focusing on the most pressing and in-demand issues of the EAEU integration processes, and brought together Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Moldova, Uzbekistan, and Cuba. Its business agenda covered about 30 events involving CEOs of large, medium and small businesses, top officials of the EAEU member states, heads and representatives of government agencies from the EAEU and third countries, international, scientific and educational organizations interested in developing cooperation within the union.