Page 116 - RusRPTOct21

During his speech at the UN General Assembly, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak noted that by 2035, the share of low-carbon energy sources in Russia would increase to 90% of the total, while the share of carbon-free energy sources (hydro, renewables and nuclear) in the energy balance would increase to 45%. According to him, Russia's energy balance is already one of the most progressive among the world's largest economies, with about 87% of the electricity generated in Russia coming from carbon-free or low-carbon sources: 46% is natural gas (the ‘cleanest’ of all fossil fuels) and 41% is carbon-free generation. The estimates provided suggest that coal-decommissioning in Russia is set to accelerate. Those companies with the largest coal exposure (such as Unipro and OGK2) would be hurt the most by potential CO2 payments and ESG ratings downgrades. They also risk being left cut off from the international capital markets and face a significant amount of stranded assets on their balance sheets.
The first carbon platform was due to be created in the Arctic, in the Yamal-Nenets autonomous region, Interfax reported on Friday 24 September. According to the press release, this will be “the first carbon platform in Russia that can serve to verify the calculation methods for accounting of carbon emissions and the efficiency of initiatives to reduce emissions''. Carbon platforms (or polygons, as they are called in Russian) are territories with a unique ecosystem, created to implement measures to control climatically active gases with the participation of universities and scientific organisations. Recently, the list of potential carbon polygons was increased to 14 regions, including Sakhalin, Kaliningrad,bashkortostan, Sverdlovsk, Novosibirsk, Tyumen, Chechnya and Krasnodar. Several regions are actively involved in working to adapt to climate change. They are getting up to speed in various experiments and pilot projects so as to achieve meaningful results in CO2 verifying and reducing emissions. Sakhalin is undertaking a CO2 trading experiment while Kaliningrad, Yakutia bashkortostan have expressed an interest in joining. Rosnano is working with the Murmansk, Ulyanovsk and Leningrad regions to create carbon-free zones.
Russia starts work on the launch of a national CO2 tax system. On 23 September, Vedomosti reported that Russia had started work on the launch of
116 RUSSIA Country Report October 2021 www.intellinews.com