MOSCOW, October 4 (RIA Novosti) - A senior official from the Russian Natural Resources Ministry called Tuesday for an environmental code to encourage producers to reduce the effect of man on the environment.

Alexander Ishkov said the code should introduce a tax on products that have an adverse impact on the ecology, a tax on the consumption of certain products or resources, and on imports of environmentally hazardous products or raw materials.

Today, producers only pay for negative environmental effects they cause, which is the only instrument available to curb pollution. Related tax receipts account for 0.5% of enterprises' overall tax payments and amount to two billion rubles (about $70 million) of the federal budget's annual revenues.

Ishkov said the code should establish tax breaks to encourage producers to use the latest technologies and employ other environment-friendly methods. The official added that fines for breaching environmental legislation had to grow considerably, while companies should be fined for issuing misleading statements and polluters should be made to pay more for any damage they cause.