The Paris climate agreement ratified by Russia in April 2016 will help preserve the nature of the Arctic, Hero of the Soviet Union and Russia Artur Chilingarov said in an interview with TASS.

"As a special presidential representative for international cooperation in the Arctic, I fully support the initiative to join the Paris Agreement. This should positively influence the development of cooperation in the region," the scientist said.

Climate change, he said, has a strong impact on the Arctic region, since the area and thickness of the ice cover are decreasing, making it difficult to do research in the northern latitudes. Artur Chilingarov supports the idea to reduce the amount of emissions into the atmosphere, although he recognizes that climate change in the region can be cyclical.

TASS reminds that the US announced its decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. President Donald Trump justified the move by citing the excessive financial burden for the country due to the need to comply with strict environmental standards. As predicted by the World Meteorological Organization, the decision of the United States will lead to an additional increase in the Earth's temperature by 0.3 degrees by 2100.