The anniversary V ECUMENE Global Forum took place in Moscow on September 17. The sessions drew an audience of 82,000 viewers from 38 countries. Thirty-eight leading experts from 20 countries presented approaches and practical solutions in the field of sustainable development—ranging from the energy transition and natural capital conservation to land restoration, water resource management, and the application of artificial intelligence
Representatives from international organizations, government bodies, the business sector, the scientific community, and expert circles took part in the discussions. The forum’s program comprised five thematic sessions: the economics of a sustainable future, the energy transition and future fuels, land degradation, artificial intelligence and water resource management.
From Technologies to Тew RulesThe Plenary session ‘Economy of a Sustainable Future’ focused on striking a balance between the global environmental agenda and the protection of countries' unique economic interests, as well as on mechanisms for scaling up targeted initiatives into long-term interstate programs.
Ruslan Edelgeriev, Aide to the President of the Russian Federation, Special Presidential Representative for Climate and Water Resources, emphasized that the environmental agenda must remain a platform for international dialogue, regardless of the political situation.
‘The environmental agenda must be taken out of the realm of political expediency. That is the most important thing! Regardless of conflicts, the environmental agenda must always remain at the center of dialogue and decision-making regarding problematic issues,’ , stated Ruslan Edelgeriev.
Alexander Alimov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, concurred with this view. According to him, sustainable development is a comprehensive theme that must always remain at the center of the global community's attention.
‘We are facing profound polarization of opinion, the bloc discipline of our opponents, and cancel culture. International law is being cancelled. Diplomacy—understood as the ability to negotiate and reach compromises rather than blindly and brazenly imposing dishes and recipes concocted in one’s own kitchen, regardless of whether the world finds them palatable—is being cancelled. Yet we continue our work: we are open to negotiation, and we hold a balanced position grounded in knowledge and expertise in this field. That is the key to success,’ the speaker noted.
UN Goodwill Ambassador and Chairman of the All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation Vyacheslav Fetisov noted that the issues of the climate agenda and sustainable development are a shared responsibility of all states.
‘Global mechanisms aren't working today, so we need to create new ones. We have the BRICS platform for this purpose. If you take Brazil and Russia and bring in the SCO, that accounts for over 40% of the world's natural resource reserves. And who, then, would dictate how we should live? Europe—which has neither forests, nor soil, nor water? It is time we started respecting ourselves. It is the law of the strong: if you don't respect yourself, no one else will. I believe the primary task of organizations like BRICS and the SCO is precisely to establish new rules of the game,’ he stated.
The moderator of the Plenary Session, Ekaterina Salugina-Sorokovaya, First Vice President of Gazprombank, emphasized that sustainable development must be grounded in the rational choice of an economic model based on a balanced assessment of two factors: the limits of resource stocks and ecosystem resilience, and the potential for technological development to offset existing constraints.
‘Until recently, humanity deemed it rational to undertake an energy transition—even at the cost of higher energy prices—in order to preserve the global ecosystem's resources. But where do we stand now? Energy costs have indeed risen, yet the energy transition has not materialized. Ultimately, it is the end consumer who suffers; in reality, they are paying for policy, not for an energy transition,’ noted Ekaterina Salugina-Sorokovaya.
Continuing the discussion on the energy sector, Alexander Alimov described the ill-considered abandonment of hydrocarbons in an effort to slow global warming as unacceptable.
‘This is a completely artificial formula that can only exist in a specific, small, electrified country. Purely 'green' economies do not exist. It is a form of 'green hypocrisy': abandoning oil and natural gas in favor of subsidized renewable energy sources. Developed nations are imposing this idea, ignoring the reality of the rest of the world—where people cook not just with coal, but simply with firewood,’ stated the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
The Energy of the Future
Participants in the session ‘Energy Reimagined: Fuels for a Sustainable Future’ discussed global energy development scenarios through 2050, energy supply security, and the role of various types of fuel.
Alexey Kulapin, Director General of the Russian Energy Agency of the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation, identified a rational technological choice as the optimal scenario for global energy development; under this approach, the share of renewable sources in the energy mix would grow in the future, yet hydrocarbons would remain a significant component, ensuring global energy security.
Zulfikar Yurnaidi, Head of the Energy Modelling and Policy Planning Department at the ASEAN Centre for Energy (Indonesia), emphasized the importance of strengthening cooperation among states to achieve regional goals, as well as the need to diversify energy sources, including through oil and gas.
‘The role of cooperation is crucial: no single country can stand alone. It is essential to create a secure system that is resilient to external shocks,’ the expert noted.
Rae Kwon Chung – Chairman of the International Award Committee for the Global Energy Prize and a member of the Board of Directors of the Ban Ki – moon Foundation for a Better Future—advocated for changing the methodology used to calculate carbon neutrality.
‘If we calculate based on production, we get one picture; based on consumption, another. I have my own solution: we need to give consumers a choice – one price for clean energy, another for traditional energy. Businesses should make the choice,’ , ’ he noted.
Land Restoration for Sustainable Development
The discussion within the session ‘Land Degradation – Adaptation Strategies and Financing Mechanisms’ focused on practical approaches to fostering international cooperation in adaptation, managing drought risks, and developing effective targeted financing instruments for land resource restoration.
Sergey Kononuchenko, Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry and Foreign Minister’s Special Representative for Climate, announced the launch of the Russian Business for Land (Business4Land/B4L) hub. It was established on the Ecumene platform during the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, held in Ulaanbaatar.
‘The issue of land degradation affects everyone and is closely linked to challenges such as water scarcity, climate change, and food security. Russia has become the third country in the world—after France and China—to launch a national 'Business for Land' hub. This initiative is significant from environmental, economic, and social perspectives. Until recently, the business community largely underestimated the importance of efforts in this area,’ emphasized the Russian Foreign Ministry representative.
Session experts emphasized the need to mobilize public and private investment to address land degradation. Alexey Spirin, Director of the Environmental and Climate Risk Management Department at En+ Group, shared practical insights regarding business involvement in tackling existing challenges in this area.
‘We have observed a decline in water levels in the Angara River over the past few decades. We conducted a study in collaboration with academicians from the Institute of Global Climate and Ecology and the Institute of Water Problems. The resulting forecast for the Baikal-Angara basin extends to the year 2100. Unfortunately, the outlook is grim: water levels are expected to drop. Under the worst-case climate change scenario, levels could fall by 15–20% by 2050 and by as much as 30% by 2100. We could simply resign ourselves to this forecast, or we could try to take action. As of now, however, there is no available water source that could be tapped to replenish Lake Baikal and the Angara River. We examined research findings on combating desertification and focused on nature-based solutions that could help slow the process of desiccation. These are large-scale projects involving the greening of catchment areas. Such measures will help retain water and increase moisture levels in these regions. According to optimistic estimates, if these nature-based systems are implemented, a 10% increase in forest cover would boost water availability by 2–4%,’ , he said.
The discussion participants urged that all aspects of the climate agenda be viewed as a single system comprising interdependent and equally important elements.
‘For some reason, we never discuss biodiversity loss and climate change within the context of land degradation—as if they belonged to entirely separate realms. Yet, at any moment, this could come crashing down on us like a snowball effect. That is why interconnectedness and integration are so important,’ stated Gladys Cecilia Hernández-Pedraza, Head of the International Finance Department at the Center for World Economy Studies (CIEM) and a lead author of the seventh UNEP Global Environment Outlook report (GEO-7, 2025).
She drew the discussion participants' attention to sobering statistics: 40% of the world's land is considered degraded. It will take thousands of years to restore the topsoil.
‘This topsoil provides us with 95% of our food and ensures biodiversity. Either we fix this, or we perish,’ stated Gladys Hernández.
Artificial Intelligence: Technologies and Control
The strategic dialogue ‘Artificial Intelligence: Shaping Tomorrow’s Society’ focused on the application of AI in industry, healthcare, education, and supply chains.
The president of the Shanghai AI Research Institute, a member of the UN Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence, Dr Song Haitao (China) stated that AI is now developing faster than scientists can fully understand its broader implications. At the same time, governments are facing new governance challenges as the technology continues to evolve rapidly. The expert emphasized the need for international cooperation to promote the safe and responsible development of AI and pointed to its potential in helping people adapt to changes — in particular, in healthcare, industry, and education. Dr Song Haitao believes that international cooperation should help more countries build their AI capabilities and take part in AI development.
Frederic Werner, Chief, Strategic Engagement Department, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Chief of Strategy and Operations, AI for Good initiative, endorsed the need for collaboration among states and various institutions in the field of artificial intelligence development.
‘We see artificial intelligence leaping from the screen into the real world. It is difficult to keep track of and keep pace with this progress. I do not think that any single country or organization should be the only one dealing with AI; everyone should be involved. We are living in extraordinary, interesting times — perhaps the most interesting in human history. We simply need to remain vigilant and try to control the situation,’ the expert stated.
Natalia Stapran, Director of the ‘Third Rome’ Center for Cross-Sectoral Expertise at the Presidential Academy (RANEPA), noted that the development of AI technologies must also be viewed in the context of climate risks and their impact on sustainable development.
‘For the global ecosystem, artificial intelligence is a costly and environmentally taxing technology, given the sheer volume of energy required for its development and operation. We need to consider right now what the cost of AI will be in terms of sustainability and the environment. The tricky aspect here is that while the climate agenda was a major focus five to seven years ago, we are now seeing AI companies begin to abandon sustainability targets. They realize that the demand for electricity has reached a point where relying solely on renewable sources and solar power is no longer feasible,’ the speaker concluded.
Session participants also discussed issues of liability regarding the use of AI and approaches to legislative regulation of this sector in various countries.
Water Resources Management
The session ‘Water Resources Management and the Conservation of Ecosystems’ concluded the business program of the ECUMENE Global Forum.
Participants discussed water quality and availability, climate risks, the state of water-dependent ecosystems, and financing mechanisms for the water sector. Leading experts from around the world joined the discussion. Speakers included Rasio Ridho Sani, Senior Advisor to the Indonesian Minister of Environment, Alisher Salomov, Advisor to the Chairman of the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change of Uzbekistan, Hwirin Kim, Head of the Hydrological and Water Resources Services Division (HMF) at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and Rashail Ismayilov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Scientific Research Institute of Water Management and Land Reclamation (WASRI) of Azerbaijan.
Ekaterina Salugina-Sorokovaya, First Vice President of Gazprombank, emphasized that in today’s landscape, water is becoming part of the financial model for business projects.
‘If we look at the classical economic model—labor, land, and capital—then water today is, if not a fourth factor of production, certainly a prerequisite for utilizing the other three. The location of production facilities, the reliability of infrastructure, and the competitiveness of entire industries depend directly on water availability,’ she noted.
Gazprombank currently supports a range of research initiatives focused on water resource management. In addition, the Bank fosters international dialogue on water issues.
Discussion participants concluded that adapting to water- and climate-related challenges requires new knowledge and technologies, additional funding sources, and more effective management models.