Development of the carbon taxation project in Russia

The Russian government has begun to develop a project for the national version of  carbon tax. It is planned to create working groups with representatives of the business community to further discuss implementation of such projects in the near future. It is expected that development of the mechanism will take 1–1.5 years. Key objectives are to prepare a comfortable national regulation for business and achieve its recognition at the international level, as well as offsetting payments for CO2 emissions in Russia by the European system of carbon control.

It should be remembered that in July 2021 Russia adopted a federal law on limiting greenhouse gas emissions.
The Russian government is considering three options for introducing a carbon tax in the country:
1. A fee at a certain rate for exceeding the emission thresholds,
2. A system of trading in emission quotas,
3. A combination of the first two options.

Russia is also currently preparing to launch a system of financing green projects and initiatives in the field of sustainable development.
At an operational meeting with deputy prime ministers on September 20, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced the preparation of a consolidated action plan to adapt the Russian economy to the global energy transition. First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov was assigned to supervise the process and named five areas of the program to facilitate the energy transition.

The priority, according to Belousov, is the acceleration of technological modernization of industries, including through the introduction of the best available technologies. The second point of the program is to win international recognition of measures, which are based on technological and natural advantages. This includes the absorptive capacity of Russian forests. The third is the introduction of a system of tax incentives for those who switch to green technologies and reduce emissions. The fourth is the expansion of the use of new and breakthrough technologies. This includes hydrogen power, carbon dioxide capture and storage technologies, nuclear power, and hydropower. Fifth is taking into account the specifics of certain regions of Russia in the context of new requirements in international trade.
Belousov specified that these five points are not an exhaustive list of the directions of the program, there are 10 of them in total.