Abstract—
The article analyzes modern international approaches to using natural-climate solutions (NCS) for decarbonization and achieving net zero emissions. It is concluded that the existing or planned implementation of state regulation in the field of NCS is clearly insufficient to unlock the potential of NCS in Russia as a possible leader in a promising new market in the coming decades. Realizing this potential requires significant targeted work to adjust the regulation and reprioritization of forest management—from extracting wood from forests for processing to integrated forest management, including quantification and monetization of forest carbon sequestration ecosystem services. The target for increasing greenhouse gas removals in the area of land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) presented in the Long-term Low Emissions and Development Strategies until 2050 (LT LEDS) was analyzed for its achievability based on the activity and projects presented in Section 3 of the LT LEDS Operational Plan (OP) (first version). It is concluded that the draft LT LEDS operational plan in terms of ecosystem solutions raises a lot of questions due to its poor compliance with modern ideas about ecosystem adaptation and mitigation, the use of NCS, etc. This part of the LT LEDS OP requires significant revision and adaptation to modern requirements. It will also require significant revision of the currently implemented federal project “Preservation of Forests” and the state program “Development of Forestry” for their integration into the LT LEDS. The first step along this path could be calculation of the carbon footprint and carbon additionality of ongoing forestry activity in relation to the baseline scenario and the correction of forest restoration activity.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
http://government.ru/news/43708/. Accessed November 20, 2022.
https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/NDC/2022-06/NDC_RF_ru.pdf. Accessed October 16, 2022.
https://unfccc.int/files/essential_background/convention/application/pdf/english_paris_agreement.pdf. Accessed November 23, 2022.
https://iucn.org/resources/issues-brief/ensuring-effective-nature-based-solutions. Accessed November 15, 2022.
https://portals.iucn.org/library/node/49070. Accessed October 4, 2022.
https://sciencebasedtargets.org/net-zero. Accessed November 8, 2022.
https://wwf.ru/about/positions/lesoklimaticheskie-proekty. Acce-ssed October 11, 2022.
https://unfccc.int/process/the-paris-agreement/long-term-strategies. Accessed October 16, 2022.
Presentation by A.A. Romanovskaya, V.N. Korotkov, and D.D. Sorokina, Institute of Global Climate Change and Economy (IGCE) at a meeting of the Scientific Council of the Russian Academy of Sciences on Forests (Center for Problems of Ecology and Forest Productivity of the Russian Academy of Sciences, April 2022).
https://wwf.ru/resources/news/lesa/oao-terneyles-i-wwf-rossii-sokhranyaya-tsennye-lesa-sokhranyaem-klimat-planety/. Accessed November 15, 2022. http://www.carbonunitsregistry.ru/eng-reports-pso.htm. Accessed October 11, 2022.
http://government.ru/news/43708/. Accessed November 20, 2022.
Drained peatlands can be located on forest fund lands, agricultural lands, and water fund lands.
https://www.ipcc.ch/report/2006-ipcc-guidelines-for-national-greenhouse-gas-inventories/. Accessed November 11, 2022.
http://rbf-ras.ru/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/AD_20210304_Romanovskaya.pdf. Accessed September 10, 2022.
https://delret.ru/research/klimaticheskie-proekty-riski-i-vozmozhnosti-dlya-biznesa. Accessed November 18, 2022.
https://sciencebasedtargets.org/resources/files/Net-Zero-Standard.pdf. Accessed November 14, 2022.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/187xmaVRTfI6uObLEHCX00VryECeFByZj/view. Accessed October 4, 2022.
https://sber.pro/special/esg-vostochniy-express. Accessed October 14, 2022.
REFERENCES
Bartalev, S.A. and Stytsenko, F.V., Satellite assessment of the death of forest stands from fires according to the data on the seasonal distribution of areas covered by fire, Lesovedenie, 2021, no. 2, pp. 115–122.
Bashmakov, I., Bashmakov, V., Borisov, K., Dzedzichek, M., Lunin, A., and Govor, I., Russia’s Carbon Neutrality: Pathways to 2060, Moscow: Center for Energy Efficiency, 2022.
Chen, Z., Dayananda, B., Fu, B., Li, Z., Jia, Z., Hu, Y., Cao, J., Liu, Y., Xie, L., Chen, Y., et al., Research on the potential of forestry’s carbon-neutral contribution in China from 2021 to 2060, Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, no. 9, p. 5444. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14095444
Girardin, C.A.J., Jenkins, S., Seddon, N., et al., Nature-based solutions can help cool the planet—If we act now, Nature, 2021, vol. 593, pp, 191–194. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-01241-2
Green, J.K. and Keenan, T.F., The limits of forest carbon sequestration, Science, 2022, vol. 376, no. 6594, pp. 692–693. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abo6547
Griscom, B.W., Adams, J., Ellis, P.W., et al., Natural climate solutions, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A., 2017, vol. 114, no. 44, pp. 11645–11650. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1710465114
Koroleva, T.S. and Yakusheva, T.V., Study of the practice of introducing innovations in the forestry of the Russian Federation, Tr. S.-Peterb. Nauchno-Issled. Inst. Lesn. Khoz., 2020, no. 3, pp. 73–86. https://doi.org/10.21178/2079-6080.2020.3.73
Lemprière, T.C., Kurz, W.A., Hogg, E.H., Schmoll, C., Rampley, G.J., Yemshanov, D., McKenney, D.W., Gilsenan, R., Beatch, A., Blain, D., Bhatti, J.S., and Krcmar, E., Canadian boreal forests and climate change mitigation, Environ. Rev., 2013, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 293–321. https://doi.org/10.1139/er-2013-0039
Lupyan, E.A. et al., Satellite monitoring of forest fires in the 21st century on the territory of the Russian Federation (figures and facts based on active combustion detection data), Sovrem. Probl. Distantsionnogo Zondirovania Zemli Kosmosa, 2017, vol. 14, no. 6, pp. 158–175. https://doi.org/10.21046/2070-7401-2017-14-6-158-175
Lupyan, E.A., Lozin, D.V., Balashov, I.V., Bartalev, S.A., and Stytsenko, F.V., Investigation of the dependence of the degree of damage to forests by fires on the intensity of burning according to satellite monitoring data, Sovrem. Probl. Distantsionnogo Zondirovania Zemli Kosmosa, 2022, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 217–232. https://doi.org/10.21046/2070-7401-2022-19-3-217-232
Moreau, L., Thiffault, E., Cyr, D., Boulanger, Y., and Beauregard, R., How can the forest sector mitigate climate change in a changing climate? Case studies of boreal and northern temperate forests in eastern Canada, For. Ecosyst., 2022, vol. 9, p. 100026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fecs.2022.100026
NDCs—A Force for Nature? Nature in Enhanced NDCs, London: WWF, 2021, 4th ed.
Overland, I. and Sabyrbekov, R., Know your opponent: Which countries might fight the European carbon border adjustment mechanism?, Energy Policy, 2022, vol. 169, p. 113175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2022.113175
Porfiriev, B.N., Decarbonization vs. adaptation of the economy to climate change within the sustainable development strategy, Stud. Russ. Econ. Dev., 2022, vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 385–391. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1075700722040074
Porfir’ev, B.N., Shirov, A.A., Kolpakov, A.Yu., and Edinak, E.A., Opportunities and risks of climate regulation policy in Russia, Vopr. Ekon., 2022, no. 1, pp. 72–89. https://doi.org/10.32609/0042-8736-2022-1-72-89
Ptichnikov, A.V., Shvarts, E.A., Popova, G.A., and Baibar, A.S., Strategy of low-carbon development of Russia and the role of forests in its implementation, Vestn. Ross. Akad. Nauk, 2023, vol. 93, no 1, pp. 48–61.
Pyzhev, A.I., The forest industry of the regions of Siberia and the Far East: Prospects for the development of the forest-climate sector, Stud. Russ. Econ. Dev., 2022, vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 402–408. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1075700722040086
Robertson, G.P., Hamilton, S.K., Paustian, K., and Smith, P., Land-based climate solutions for the United States, Global Change Biol., 2022, no. 28, pp. 4912–4919. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16267
Shvarts, E.A. and Ptichnikov, A.V The strategy of low-carbon development of Russia and the role of forests in its implementation, Nauchn. Tr. Vol’nogo Ekon. O-va Ross., 2022, vol. 236, no. 4, pp. 399–426. https://doi.org/10.38197/2072-2060-2022-236-4-399-426
Shvarts, E.A., Kokorin, A.O., Ptichnikov, A.V., and Krenke, A.N., Transboundary carbon regulation and Russian forests: From expectations and myths to realizing interests, Ekon. Politika, 2022, vol. 17, no. 5, pp. 54–77. https://doi.org/10.18288/1994-5124-2022-5-54-77
Yao, H., Sun, W., Qin, Z., Zhang, W., Yu, Y., Li, T., Zhang, Q., Wang, G., Yu, L., Wang, Y., Ding, F., and Zhang, P., The role of China’s terrestrial carbon sequestration 2010–2060 in offsetting energy-related CO2 emissions, Natl. Sci. Rev., 2022, vol. 9, no. 8, p. nwac057. https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwac057
Zamolodchikov, D., Grabovskii, V., and Kurts, V., Forest carbon balance management in Russia: Past, present and future, Ustoich. Lesopol’z., 2014, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 23–31.
Zhong, J. and Pei, J., Beggar thy neighbor? on the competitiveness and welfare impacts of the EU’s proposed carbon border adjustment mechanism, Energy Policy, 2022, vol. 162, p. 112802. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2022.112802
Funding
The study was carried out within the state task of the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences AAAAA19-119021990093-8 (FMGE-2019-0007).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ptichnikov, A.V., Shvarts, E.A. Decarbonization via Nature-Based Solutions: National Policy and International Practice. Reg. Res. Russ. 13, 631–645 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S2079970523701022
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S2079970523701022