Save for later Print Download Share LinkedIn Twitter A national carbon trading system (CTS) for Russia, seen by Moscow as one part of its climate policy, is slowly taking shape. The St. Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange (Spimex) is ready to play its role but Spimex head Alexei Rybnikov tells Energy Intelligence in an interview that much has yet to be done to start the system and develop the necessary regulation (related). Experts believe that Russia needs to speed up its efforts to prepare the necessary legislation for schemes such as CTS if the country wants to have a stronger negotiating position with the EU, which is planning to introduce a carbon border tax as part of its net-zero targets. Russia's CTS program doesn't feel like a high priority. The matter was not included in last week's list of orders that President Vladimir Putin gave to the government following discussions earlier in June at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The list of orders, aimed at "reducing Russia's accumulated net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 2021-50" to levels lower than those in the EU, includes the order to develop by Oct. 21 a road map for decreasing Russia's carbon intensity. The decrease should be achieved by cutting carbon dioxide emissions and boosting the country's emissions' absorption. Other requirements include the launch of climate projects in Russia starting from July 2022, including projects to cut or prevent CO2 emissions and to increase GHG absorption. Although it's not in the list of urgent orders, a CTS is to be tested by Sakhalin island as part of its ambitious aim to become carbon free by 2025. The first carbon trading transaction is expected by mid-2022. Spimex will not participate in the experiment, but hopes that this will be a first step toward establishing a national CTS. Rybnikov said Spimex is participating in all the discussions on the issue, but sources say the exchange has not been approached to act as an operator for such a system as talks are at an early stage only.
