NEWS SUMMARY

March 29, 2021 — LONDON: A pilot carbon emissions trading system was given the go-ahead on the country’s largest island of Sakhalin as part of a roadmap to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2025, the UNFCCC reported. See link below.

Russia is considering scaling up the results of the initiative to cover all its territory, according to the report.

Sakhalin Island’s net-zero plan, including an inventory of its greenhouse gas emissions and natural carbon sequestration potential, will be under development through August, before an emissions trading system is set up to begin operating in mid-2022, with the aim of achieving a net-zero target by 2025, it said.

The island’s economy hinges on fossil-fuel production.

Besides emissions trading and a ban on all petrol and diesel cars by 2035, the region also aims to develop blue and green hydrogen production and promote sustainable management of its forests, the report said.

The country has been considering carbon markets for years after making money as a seller in the UN Kyoto system.

(Updates headline on March 30)

NOTES:

Story: https://unfccc.int/news/russia-s-far-east-in-race-to-net-zero-emissions