Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:

Vladimir Putin: During our latest visit to Germany our partners offered us solutions to fight peat bog fires. I asked you to hold consultations. Has any progress been made on this issue?

Yury Trutnev: Yes, Mr Prime Minister. I met with top-ranking officials from the German Ministry for the Environment, including the State Secretary.

Germany has been dealing with the problem of bog irrigation for some 20 years. They have gained vast experience and are eager to share their technology and provide financial assistance. Their solutions are generally based on natural irrigation – to put it simply, they just block an irrigation channel. An important effect of the use of this technology is the absorption of carbon dioxide, which inhibits climate change.

We would like to discuss these offers with Moscow Region Governor Boris Gromov so as to start this project with our German partners as soon as possible.

Vladimir Putin: So you think it’s a good offer?

Yury Trutnev: Yes, I think we should accept this offer from people who have been dealing with this problem for long. The use of their technology generates additional effects, like useful side products; and it is also important that our partners are eager to invest about five million euros in this project.

Vladimir Putin: Excellent. Does this technology comply with our rules and legislation?

Yury Trutnev:  Absolutely.

Vladimir Putin: What’s the situation regarding legislation in this area?

Yury Trutnev: As you know, the current legislation contains very few incentives to modernise production facilities through the adoption of energy saving technology and through the use of measures to reduce emissions in the environment, primarily water and the atmosphere.

We have developed a package of six draft laws, which would introduce new regulatory mechanisms, such as environmental auditing, insurance and supervision. This legislation also includes provisions on solid waste disposal…

But the main draft law is the one that sets forth industry standards and economic incentives. We had to overhaul existing standards in order to facilitate the adoption of advanced technology.

New standards almost fully comply with EU standards. And I’d like to note that this legislation is based on German law. Germans pioneered this industry, and their legislation was later adopted by the EU.

All measures will be phased in sequentially. None of them will create any problems for the Russian economy.

Vladimir Putin: Do you think companies will have difficulty meeting new commitments?

Yury Trutnev: They will have enough time to prepare.

Vladimir Putin: When do you plan to submit this package to the government and the State Duma?

Yury Trutnev: We have coordinated the draft laws with federal executive bodies, but there are still a few criticisms we need to tackle so we need some more time to tweak the drafts.

Vladimir Putin: Good. But still, when is the deadline? When do you plan to finish it?

Yury Trutnev: Hopefully, we will finish the drafts and submit them to the Duma by the end of this year.