The problem of increasing anthropogenic pressure on the biosphere is considered in the framework of ideas about the carrying capacity of the ecosystem. The possibility of giving an exact definition of the carrying capacity is discussed, the concept of its one-dimensional projection is introduced, and examples of one-dimensional projections are given. In relation to the biosphere, they relate, in particular, to the limits of growth. The traditional definition of the concept “sustainable development” is criticized, this definition is associated with the ideology of the consumer society. The features of the perception of environmental issues by the mass consciousness in a consumer society are described. Extensions of the notion “environment” and a new approach to the interpretation of the notion “sustainable development” due to this expansion are considered.

In 2015, the UN Conference adopted the Sustainable Human Development Goals for 2016–2030, supported by all countries, including Russia. The article analyzes the task of adapting the UN SDG from the standpoint of the possibility of including indicators of the digital economy in these Goals for Russia. Key economic, social and environmental indicators of the digital economy, which most reflect the country’s sustainable development objectives, have been proposed. The particular difficulties in Russia and the world are caused by the identification of adequate indicators of the digital economy and their quantitative interpretation for environmental SDGs, which is caused by an insufficient statistical base. The integral index of the digital economy and society and the place of Russia in the world from the standpoint of this index are analyzed. It is advisable in the country to develop and adopt in one form or another its own long-term Sustainable Development Strategy that takes into account the SDGs, and the development of the digital economy will be an important driver for its implementation.

In this paper, we study how financial sustainable growth matters for environment protection and social responsibility. Financial decisions that take into account long-term social and environmental consequences should be central to the system of financially sustainable growth of oil and gas companies of the world, including Russia and China. Authors present Russia and China oil and gas industry system transition to «Green Finance» sustainable growth model results with interrelation financial, environmental and social factors. Study regarded in the context of economic growth theory, system economics theory and the theory of relativity. It was created Python 3.6. financial sustainable growth model for Russia and China. A dynamic model was built on the basis of the Ricci tensor. For sustainable growth intensity analysis, it was compared Financial sustainable index (FSI), Higgins’ sustainable growth rate (SGR), Ivashkovskaya’ sustainable growth index (SGI), Ivashkovskaya’ sustainable growth index modification (SGImodif) every period indicators’ average values and the graph’ average values of the Ricci curvatures (R). Using the Ricci curvature, the parameters of a dynamic model of sustainable growth are determined for Russia and for China oil and gas industry.Key words: sustainable growth, System Dynamic modelling, Ecological Finance, Ricci Curvature, environmental financial sustainable growth, Financial Sustainable Index (FSI).

This article discusses the evolution of the concept of bioeconomy from the early 1970s to the present. We highlight the main trends in the current development of bioeconomies in Russia and the European Union. Implementation of biotechnologies with a view to sustainable and low-carbon development is analyzed. It is the European Union that takes the leading position in the development of the bioeconomy. Several social, economic and political problems are to be solved by introducing elements of the bioeconomy in the EU. Moreover, we have identified and analyzed the stages of the development of a bioeconomy in Russia, as well as the main drivers and limitations associated with the development of a bioeconomy in Russia. Finally, an overview of state policies and instruments in the field of bioeconomic development is presented, and evaluations of their effectiveness and applicability in Russia are given.

The research aims at the establishment of main principles, priorities and directions of the environmental industrial policy development in the Russian Federation. Environmental industrial policy is considered as a part of the industrial policy aimed at the formation of highly technological competitive national industry providing for the transfer of the economy from the export of raw materials to the innovation type of development. The international experience of the implementation of industrial policies is analysed; it is shown that re-industrialisation leads to strengthening the role of the state regulation and planning both in developed and developing countries. Peculiarities of the international approaches to forming “green” industrial policy are considered. Main principles of the environmental industrial policy development in the Russian Federation are formulated as follows: (1) industrial modernisation providing for the resource efficiency enhancement and the reduction of the negative environmental impact and (2) recycling of waste (its return to the economic cycle). It is emphasised that the environmental industrial policy priorities reflect foremost national purposes and strategic objectives of the Russian Federation development.

The article examines the ecological and economic mechanism for the elimination of accumulated environmental damage (NEU) in the Arctic, the development of recommendations for further improvement of such a mechanism, including programmatic methods. The issues of the state of the environment and environmental safety in the Arctic zone of Russia are considered. The main attention is paid to the formation of a program to eliminate NEU on polluted islands and other territories. The results obtained were included in the development of the Program for the Elimination of Accumulated Environmental Damage on the Polluted Islands of the Franz Josef Land Archipelago, and in the preparation of proposals for the further planning and organization of cleanup work. In general, the cleaning of the islands, carried out in the period 2012–2017, showed high performance. It is necessary to expand this type of work in other contaminated areas located in the Arctic, to develop a special program “Ecological safety of the Arctic zone”, to develop scientific research on Arctic topics

The article is devoted to the approaches to achieve sustainable development of the Arctic territories. Measuring sustainability is one of the important aspects in the formation of state and corporate policies. Sustainable development of the region requires to solve three issues: 1) to improve the quality of life of the population; 2) to reduce social inequality; 3) to reduce the anthropogenic pressure on ecosystems. The article analyzes two author’s methods: compiling a sustainable development rating of the Russian Federation’s regions, fully or partially included in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, and companies operating in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation (Polar Index); development of a sustainable development rating for the regions and companies of the Barents Euro-Arctic Region (Barents-Polar Index). These studies will be useful to representatives of companies and the leadership of the Russian regions to move towards sustainable development based on the “green” economy.

The article is dedicated to the analysis of the development of alternative energy in Russia as one of the key factors of forming a low-carbon economy model. Authors reviewed the main stages of forming the institutional environment which regulated the process of the transition to a low-carbon economy model and a wider use of alternative energy including renewable energy sources (RES).Authors analyzed the renewable energy industry in Russia. The empirical base of the study consists of auctions results conducted in the framework of the government support of RES during 2013–2018 and the information system “SPARK”. Using the Concentration ratio, the Herfindahl-Hirschman and the Hall-Tideman indices authors revealed a high level of concentration in this industry in the context of each type of RES. In addition, an analysis of the ownership structure of companies has shown that the most successful companies are companies in the form of partnerships between the state, a Russian company and / or a foreign company.

The implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement, ratified by 184 countries, requires the formation of economic mechanisms related to the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. The Russian Federation is also planning to ratify the Paris Agreement, which will require the creation of adequate economic and legal instruments. The article discusses the economic mechanism that allows domestic producers to offset greenhouse gas emissions from forest takeovers and transfer the absorbed tons from the Russian forest sector to other sectors of the economy, which will increase the competitiveness of domestic producers on the world market and leave funds domestically. This creates an opportunity to increase expenses for the rational use and preservation of the national ecosystem.

The author studies environmental insurance in nature management as a lever of management measures to prevent and eliminate environmental pollution by oil products during their transportation and oil fields development. The research aims to develop recommendations for environmental risks insurance in Russian oil and gas industry on the basis of economic and mathematical model that allows to estimate the scale of environmental pollution by oil products. Such methods as system and comparative analysis, expert assessments, forecasting, modeling used in this work helped the author to identify Russian environmental insurance features; to propose a method for solving the problem concerning the lack of statistical data on the frequency and scale of accidents and the environmental damage magnitude by mathematical modeling of the accident, which allows to estimate the radius and depth of the underlying surface pollution. These developments will help insurers to make more adequate insurance premiums and tariffs, as well as to improve the underwriting procedure for unique oil and gas projects. But in order for the obtained achievements to find their application, it is necessary to have legislation obliging oil companies to compensate for environmental damage, and due to the scale of such damage, oil companies will be obliged to insure the relevant risks.