Russia has opened a legislative procedure to enable the regulation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at the company level. The draft amendment (Russian) of the Law on Environmental Protection has been made available for public comment. Following this, a revised version will be submitted to the Parliament for their consideration. If the amendment is approved by the end of this year, it will come into force from 1 January 2016.
The draft will create a legal basis for the government to:
- List the types of GHG that will fall under regulation;
- Set rules for the monitoring, reporting and verification of GHG emissions on a company level;
- Set emissions limits on a company level; and
- Develop and implement economic policy instruments to stimulate emission reductions.
The draft amendment is one of the first steps to fulfill Russia’s national (Russian) and international emissions reduction commitments. In the run-up to the COP21 in Paris, Russia has pledged to reduce emissions by at least 25% from 1990 levels by 2020 and 25-30% from 1990 levels by 2030.
