AIM Carbon: Forest-Climate Projects in Russia Could Reduce Up to 100 Million Tons of CO2 Emissions Annually

In 2023, Russia adopted a new Climate Doctrine aimed at achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. The doctrine emphasizes decarbonizing the economy, which, if supported by technological and regulatory changes, will yield significant social, economic, and environmental benefits. Given that Russia is a leading forest nation, possessing about 22% of the world's forest area and 21% of global forest resources, the strategies for achieving carbon neutrality focus heavily on enhancing CO2 absorption by ecosystems.

AIM Carbon conducted its own research into the potential for increasing CO2 absorption and reducing greenhouse gas emissions through investment-attractive forest-climate projects in Russia. The study concluded that the potential ranges between 80–100 million tons of CO2 equivalent per year by 2050. The most promising projects identified include voluntary forest conservation (6–11 million tons of CO2 equivalent per year), reducing forest fire incidence (12–36 million tons for leased forests in the Siberian Federal District), and protective afforestation (20–30 million tons of CO2 equivalent per year) on agro-holding lands.

"Currently, only two forest-climate projects are registered in the Russian carbon unit registry, with a planned issuance of 6.6 million tons of CO2 equivalent carbon units. There is a need to significantly increase the registration of forest-climate projects to achieve the goals of Russia's low-carbon development strategy and company decarbonization," emphasizes Varvara Gryaznova, the lead specialist of the climate project development department. Enhancing the quality of forest-climate projects involves improving methodologies, validation and verification programs, and increasing the transparency of the registry.

The company sees substantial potential in close collaboration between the government and private businesses in developing and implementing forest-climate projects. Such cooperation will help enhance the CO2 absorption capacity of ecosystems across Russia.