From carbon polygon to carbon farm: The potential and ways of developing the sequestration carbon industry in the Leningrad Region and St. Petersburg

Abstract

Climate change is one of the most important global problems of the 21st century. The territory of Russia is located in an area of significant observed and forecasted climate change. Achieving Russia’s carbon neutrality by 2060 requires the development of a national system for monitoring greenhouse gas emissions and uptake. To achieve this goal, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education launched a pilot programme to create a national network of carbon polygons. St. Petersburg State University together with Voeikov Main Geophysical Observatory created the concept of Ladoga carbon polygon focusing the study the greenhouse gas absorption (or sequestration) potential of forest ecosystems typical for Northwest Russia. The evolution of this project assumes the establishment of a forest carbon farm (nature-based solutions). Based on the assumption that the territories of forest areas that were previously part of the state agricultural lands of the Leningrad region can be used for carbon farms (afforestation, enhanced carbon uptake by changing land use), an estimate of CO2 absorption has been made. For the total area of forest carbon farms of 677.9 · 103 ha, it was evaluated of 3700 ± 1900 kt CO2/year or (1000 ± 520) · 106kg С/year. It is shown that the CO2 absorption of such carbon farms can offset up to 20 % of the total CO2 emission of the Leningrad Region and not more than 8 % of the total CO2 emission for the combined region consisting of Leningrad Region and St. Petersburg. The economic effect of the operation of forest carbon farms can only be achieved in the long term. At the current price level per tonne of CO2 (35 USD/ (t CO2)), a 1 hectare of forest carbon farm would yield an income of 9500 USD over a 75-year lifetime. This determines the economic feasibility of creating carbon farms, which is also due to the potential for the production of carbon units based on them, which will either be traded on carbon exchanges or be taken into account as the results of activities aimed at reducing carbon emissions.