Author: Valery A. Chereshnev, Academician of Russian Academy of Sciences, Dr. Sc. (Med.), Professor, Chief Researcher, Institute of Economics of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Aleksandr A. Kuklin, Dr. Sc. (Econ.), Professor, Head of the Centre for Economic Security, Institute of Economics of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Anastasiya I. Boyarskikh, Postgraduate, Institute of Economics of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Abstract. The paper is devoted to ecological and economic problems of the Russian Federation. The authors describe data on global carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions and consider a number of regulations of the Russian Federation aimed at achieving the goals of sustainable development and environmental protection. The existing programs and methodological approaches to the assessment of sustainable development are analyzed. We propose using methodological approach to the assessment of the green territory potential. We show the indicators of territory potential diagnostic system for the transition to green economy. We describe the results of the implementation of our methodology for the assessment of the green territory potential on the data of the Ural Federal District over the period 2009–2014. We believe that today the transition to green economy in the Ural Federal District is not possible.

Keywords: green economy, sustainable development, ecology-oriented economy, territory potential, assessment of green potential, indicator, indicative analysis, region