Photo: Kantor Vadim/GeoPhoto.ru
Carbon Offset Verification System to Be Launched in Russia
The Ministry for Economic Development came up with a bill to amend the Federal Law on Limiting Greenhouse Emissions so as to set up mechanisms for validating carbon offset reports submitted by businesses. Under the bill, more than 30 various regulations are to be introduced as regards accrediting, standardization and classing greenhouse gases. The bill was announced during the World Quality Day in Russia, an international forum that took place in Moscow on 10-12 November 2021.
The initiative will bring about major changes for mining and manufacturing companies, including those operating in the Arctic. If approved, the bill will open the way for manufacturers to conclude agreements on validation of climate projects and third-party verification of their outcomes with legal entities certified by the national accrediting authority. A pilot project on validation will be launched in Sakhalin Oblast, a region that has already been serving as a testing ground for a series of climate-related initiatives.
According to Deputy Economic Development Minister Aleksey Khersontsev, Russia “has entered an active phase of developing this country’s first national package of climate regulations aiming to improve the competitiveness of Russian companies vis-a-vis other countries in a world transiting to offsetting and carbon reporting”.
Work to implement ESG solutions is already underway. As stated by Nazariy Skrypnik, Director of the Federal Accrediting Service, on 11 November, the authority accredited the first Russian greenhouse gas validation and verification agent.
Introducing ESG standards in Russia will enable it to harmonize its regulations with those in place in the advanced economies, which will help both remove eventual trade barriers impeding Russian exports and avoid so-called climate taxation imposed by the EU (under the CBAM) and other trade partner countries. At the same time, a concerted effort of government, big business and other stakeholders to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is expected to be beneficial for the Russian Arctic, with development projects becoming increasingly sustainable in the near future.
Arctic Today is a column by PORA CEO Alexander Stotskiy analyzing major international, national and regional events and trends in the Arctic.
The initiative will bring about major changes for mining and manufacturing companies, including those operating in the Arctic. If approved, the bill will open the way for manufacturers to conclude agreements on validation of climate projects and third-party verification of their outcomes with legal entities certified by the national accrediting authority. A pilot project on validation will be launched in Sakhalin Oblast, a region that has already been serving as a testing ground for a series of climate-related initiatives.
According to Deputy Economic Development Minister Aleksey Khersontsev, Russia “has entered an active phase of developing this country’s first national package of climate regulations aiming to improve the competitiveness of Russian companies vis-a-vis other countries in a world transiting to offsetting and carbon reporting”.
Work to implement ESG solutions is already underway. As stated by Nazariy Skrypnik, Director of the Federal Accrediting Service, on 11 November, the authority accredited the first Russian greenhouse gas validation and verification agent.
Introducing ESG standards in Russia will enable it to harmonize its regulations with those in place in the advanced economies, which will help both remove eventual trade barriers impeding Russian exports and avoid so-called climate taxation imposed by the EU (under the CBAM) and other trade partner countries. At the same time, a concerted effort of government, big business and other stakeholders to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is expected to be beneficial for the Russian Arctic, with development projects becoming increasingly sustainable in the near future.
Arctic Today is a column by PORA CEO Alexander Stotskiy analyzing major international, national and regional events and trends in the Arctic.
15 November 2021
