In January 2019, the Ministry for Economic Development in Russia introduced a bill on “State regulation of Greenhouse Gases and on Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation” that could lay the foundation for a national Emissions Trading System (ETS). If the bill passes, it could see an ETS launching in 2025 for industrial and energy companies that directly emit more than 150,000 tCO2e per year. This also includes domestic aviation and railway transport organizations that carry out passenger and cargo transportation.
According to the bill, a market-based mechanism will be developed to regulate Greenhouse Gases (GHG). Both emissions permits (from 2025) and reduction credits (from 2022) would be available to regulated entities. Parallel to this, Russia is developing the legal basis for a Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system at the company level. The MRV system would also provide the basis for the establishment of sectorial GHG limits that would be set based on four to five years of reported data. Where emissions exceed such limits, companies would be subject to a fee (amount as yet unspecified).
