Climate Projects as a Mechanism for Carbon Regulation

The paper analyzes the place of climate projects in state regulation of greenhouse gas emissions in Russia. The author offers an original definition of carbon regulation, conceptualizing it as the deliberate exercise of state authority over public relations concerning greenhouse gas emissions, effected through specialized legal instruments and mechanisms. The objective is to safeguard public interests by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing their sequestration, and averting dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. 
Climate projects can act as a tool for the dispositive (indirect) method of carbon regulation, for the full implementation of which it is necessary to create stimulating conditions. These conditions include: (1) the establishment of greenhouse gas emission limits (quotas) for regulated entities, which may be met through the implementation of climate projects; (2) the provision of state support to climate project developers; (3) the prioritization of goods and services with a low or zero carbon footprint in public procurement; and (4) the integration of Russian climate projects into international greenhouse gas emission offset mechanisms, particularly ICAO’s CORSIA. 
The author concludes that the legal framework governing the implementation of climate projects should evolve in line with global trends toward more stringent project requirements. These include quantitative restrictions on the use of carbon units, guarantees for the long-term permanence of results achieved through natural sequestration projects (including forest-based climate projects), and other related measures. In this connection, the Russian regulations governing the implementation of climate projects are in need of improvement. 

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