Russian region declares itself ‘carbon neutral’

Sakhalin has been aiming to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions since 2022

The Russian Far East’s Sakhalin Region has achieved carbon neutrality, reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, Governor Valery Limarenko has announced.

He made the statement on Saturday at the ‘Islands of Growth’ international climate forum in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The event took place last week and brought together leading experts in the field, as well as officials from BRICS nations and the Asia-Pacific region.

“Sakhalin Region became the first region in Russia where the removal of greenhouse gases exceeded their emissions according to the official regional inventory,” Limarenko said.

“We fulfilled the president’s order and proved that the transition to a low-carbon economy is possible without compromising growth and with industrial development,” he wrote on Telegram after the event. The goal was reached “a year ahead of schedule,” he added.

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In 2022, Moscow launched an experiment aimed at achieving carbon neutrality in Sakhalin Region by the end of this year. Dozens of companies took part, forming a system of reporting greenhouse gas production, and for working with a carbon market of government quotas for CO2 emissions.

The climate agenda affects the “competitiveness of Russian products abroad,” Russian Economic Development Minister Maksim Reshetnikov said at the forum last week. Moscow could take “leading positions” in low-carbon-footprint industries such as aluminum, lithium, and fertilizer production, as well as nuclear and hydroelectric power, he said.

The success of the Sakhalin experiment means it could be repeated in other regions of the country if they show interest, Reshetnikov added.

The Yakutia Republic, also in the Russian Far East, is considering becoming the next region to pursue carbon neutrality. The regional government has tasked several research centers with calculating the region’s carbon balance in preparation, according to the first deputy chairman of the republic, Dzhulustan Borisov.