In Russia, there has been a severe lack of financing for environmental projects in recent years. Traditional sources of financing, such as government budgets, lack resources in this time of crisis, while new sources have yet to develop their potential. How can Russia finance the projects and programmes to tackle its most serious environmental problems?

This volume brings together papers from an OECD workshop that assessed the challenges and opportunities of environmental financing in Russia today. Its case studies focus on the regional and local levels of government, which have taken over the main work of implementing environmental policy in Russia today. The book also looks at the water sector, which has traditionally required large public investments. The papers examine how current financial mechanisms can be used more effectively and consider opportunities for new sources of financing in Russia's current transition to a market economy. Furthermore, they point to key areas for reforming Russia's environmental policy framework.