The Ministry of Economic Development considers it necessary to introduce a carbon fee in Russia. Deputy head of department Ilya Torosov spoke about this RBC.
According to him, this will prevent funds from escaping abroad.
As Torosov said, Europe’s transboundary carbon regulation mechanism will also affect Russia through “friendly” countries that will implement similar measures.
“Therefore, it is strategically wrong to expect that this will not affect us,” the deputy minister emphasized.
He reminded that in October last year, the EU launched a cross-border carbon management mechanism (CBAM). It predicts that from 2026 importers of various goods, including metals, fertilizers and electricity, will pay the price for the CO2 emissions from their production.
“Why pay taxes to other countries’ budgets when you can renew your own budget and use it for the same decarbonization?” – Torosov wondered.
According to him, discussions are currently ongoing with business and government officials.
Carbon regulation needs to be introduced to meet the Paris Agreement, which aims to prevent average temperatures from rising by more than 2°C. IMF experts estimate that potential Russian budget revenues from such a measure will be 4.3-4.4% of GDP by 2030.
It was previously known that CO2 emissions would increase in 2023 achieved new high.
Previously, Putin approved Russia’s climate doctrine.