Within the framework of a partnership between the Climate Center of Novosibirsk State University and the Y. A. Israel Institute of Global Climate and Ecology, Roshydromet, with support fr om the Novosibirsk Regional Government, calculated the carbon balance of the Novosibirsk Region for 2017-2020. These calculations make the Novosibirsk Region the first in Russia wh ere the carbon balance was not only calculated, but verified by the national center.
Irina Filimonova, Group Head, Doctor of Economics, and Chief Researcher at the NSU Climate Center, talked about their work,
Greenhouse gas emissions in the Region account for 1.3% of the total in Russia. This is comparable to the share of the economy and the population of the Region. Novosibirsk’s share of GDP is 1.29% and the share of the population is 1.91%. The total volume of emissions in the region is about the equivalent of 27.0 million tons of CO2. This is a decrease of 7.5% over the past four years. The net uptake of greenhouse gasses by ecosystems in 2020 was estimated at 4.6 MtCO2e. Thus, the carbon balance of NSO is the equivalent of 22.3 million tons of CO2.
These results are of great practical significance. A sectoral emissions assessment allows you to explore the potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and to clarify the region's policy in the field of energy, industrial production, agriculture, and land use in response to government objectives in the field of climate policy.
The next step in the NSU Climate Center’s work is the development of a strategy for managing the Region’s carbon balance. This strategy includes specific recommendations for reducing emissions, increasing CO2 absorption, and creating a quota system for greenhouse gas emissions and the cost of emissions beyond the quota as the main state regulation mechanism. The proposed measures will reduce Novosibirsk Region’s emissions by almost a quarter (6 million tons of CO2), increase the absorption of greenhouse gasses by 50%, and increase the Region’s GDP in agriculture up to 30%.