Russia should become a leader in climate cooperation between the BRICS+ countries

Carbon regulation in Russia has generally been formed, the necessary mechanisms have been created, and emphasis is placed on the implementation of climate projects. This was discussed at the conference “Science as the basis for solving problems related to climate change in the cryosphere and hydrosphere” within the framework of the 28th UN Climate Conference, which concludes its work in Dubai this week.

The head of the RSPP Committee on Climate Policy, Andrei Melnichenko, in his speech paid special attention to the implementation of climate projects in natural ecosystems (the so-called Nature-Based Solutions, or NBS). Their range is very extensive; almost every type of natural ecosystem has the potential to control the flow of greenhouse gases.

“Even relatively inexpensive NBS – improving forest management, restoring steppes and savannas, fighting fires, greening the tundra to curb thawing permafrost – could reduce net emissions by almost a third of all global anthropogenic emissions by 2050, according to UNEP estimates. The overall potential for the implementation of natural solutions and geoengineering projects can be many times greater than all the emissions that humanity produces,” Andrey Melnichenko emphasized.

NBS have other benefits: conserving biodiversity, promoting adaptation to climate change. They could also lift a billion people out of poverty, create 80 million jobs and drive global economic growth.

Host of this year’s UN climate summit, the UAE, itself a major emitter of greenhouse gases, has shown enormous interest in natural climate projects. Since 2019, the country has been implementing the Mangrove Soil Carbon Sequestration project, aimed at accumulating carbon in mangrove forests. The UAE has set an ambitious target of planting an additional 100 million mangrove trees by 2030, which will sequester an additional 2 megatonnes of CO2. In addition, there is an NBS project to restore coastal ecosystems. And since 2022, under the supervision of Sheikh Ahmed Dalmuk al-Maktoum, a specially created company “Blue carbon” has been operating in the country, which is engaged in the restoration of natural ecosystems in Africa for the subsequent sale of offsets on the market. Treaties to restore forests and other ecosystems with enormous carbon storage potential have been concluded with Zimbabwe, Liberia, Zambia and other countries.

Russia, which has a huge territory, has enormous potential for climate projects. Conservative estimates put it at 400 million tons of greenhouse gases per year from cost-effective measures alone. With some regulatory support, it can easily be increased to 900 million tons of CO2. And if we take into account the effects of projects to slow down the melting of permafrost, the potential can be measured in billions of tons of greenhouse gases.

An example of an effective NBS project is the “Pleistocene Park”, presented at the UN COP28 climate summit. This is a unique project that has been implemented in Yakutia for 20 years and is supported by the Andrey Melnichenko Foundation. It aroused great interest in Dubai: during the conference, the Russian pavilion was visited by the leaders of four countries, numerous heads of national delegations and several hundred guests.

The conference participants noted that today a number of countries are interested in NBS gaining access to carbon markets, many of them are members of BRICS+.

As Andrey Melnichenko noted, the BRICS+ countries today generate 40% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, while having the greatest potential of natural ecosystems: more than 30% of the world’s territory, about 40% of the world’s forests. This can make it possible to effectively compensate for emissions within BRICS+: some countries have fuel and energy resources or heavy industry (China, India, South Africa, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran), others (Brazil, Argentina, Ethiopia) have the potential to implement climate projects . Russia combines both.

In this regard, and also taking into account the fact that next year Russia will chair BRICS, it seems logical for our country to become a driver of climate cooperation in the association.

“We need to identify the potential and look for ways to reduce emissions and increase absorption in the most cost-effective ways. For Russia, this should become a key element of the climate agenda. We, as a business, are ready to support this work in every possible way,” Andrey Melnichenko emphasized.

The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs has been paying priority attention to the climate agenda since 2020, when a separate RUIE Committee on Climate Policy and Carbon Regulation was created, headed by Andrey Melnichenko. The committee consists of 200 representatives of business and the expert community, including representatives of more than 50 largest companies. The Committee made a significant contribution to the development of strategic documents on climate and the formation of a national position on issues of international carbon regulation.