Reflections on Carbon Units and Climate Projects

The study is devoted to carbon regulation, as well as the legal support of a climate project as a set of measures to reduce the carbon footprint of industrial activities, increase the volume of absorption (sequestration) of greenhouse gases, or reduce their emissions. The potential for utilizing a carbon unit generated through a climate project and obtaining income from its sale is an effective economic incentive for taking proactive measures to achieve a balance of emissions and absorption. Meanwhile, the legal norms do not allow us to attribute the verified result of the climate project to one of the types of objects specified in Article 128 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, and therefore the range of civil law contracts concluded in relation to this benefit remains uncertain. The climate project is now a kind of status event for major market players. Legislation on limiting greenhouse gas emissions appears to narrow the range of actors involved in reducing the carbon footprint by setting an excessively high threshold for entry into the carbon market. At the same time, the activities of other entities that are unable to bear the costs associated with the official registration and implementation of the climate project, but voluntarily increase the sequestration of greenhouse gases, are not stimulated in any way. The paper analyzes the legal nature of the carbon unit as another asset and makes proposals to expand the circle of people whose activities can contribute to reducing global temperatures. 

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