MOSCOW, October 25. /TASS/. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has signed a decree required to launch a system of greenhouse gas state accounting throughout the country starting next year, the cabinet’s press service said in a statement on Monday.
"The document sets out a list of substances subject to accounting. Those are carbon dioxide (СО2), methane, nitrogen oxide, sulphur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons, as well as nitrogen trifluoride," the statement said.
The list has been formed based on the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as the Concept for formation of the monitoring system of greenhouse gas emission passed by the cabinet in 2015, according to the statement.
The decree is necessary to implement the provisions of the law on greenhouse gas emission control signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in July, the government’s press service explained. The document stipulates the introduction of mandatory accounting for large enterprises, as well as the creation of a special information system, where this data will be posted. "Apart from emission control, mechanisms are suggested to encourage investments in climate projects, for example, on forest restoration or upgrading industrial facilities based on resource-saving technologies," the cabinet noted.
It is also intended to set emission control targets, considering the president’s request to reduce the volume of greenhouse gas emission accumulated from 2021 to 2050 to a level lower than in the European Union.
"The decision taken will become yet another step towards the creation of a balanced system of carbon regulation in Russia that will facilitate the formation of favorable conditions for sustainable development of the Russian economy," the government concluded.