In Russia’s ‘Death Valley,’ Putin’s Pledge to Become Carbon Neutral Rings Hollow

KISELYOVSK, Russia—In October, President Vladimir Putin pledged Russia would become carbon neutral by 2060, an formidable assure for the world’s fourth-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and an economy intensely reliant on fossil fuels.

Handful of had been as surprised at Mr. Putin’s announcement as the residents of Kiselyovsk, a town they get in touch with “Death Valley” because of the open-pit coal mines that belch noxious gases and coal dust, leaving the air acrid and little ones ill.