A meeting of the Expert Council under the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation on scientific support for the development of carbon balance control technologies was held

On August 11, a meeting of the Expert Council under the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia on the issues of scientific support for the development of carbon balance control technologies was held. During the meeting, interim results of the activities of carbon measurements test areas were summed up, projects of the Center for the Development and Implementation of Digital Methods for the Implementation of Natural and Climate Projects and the Center for Natural and Climate Solutions were presented, and programs for the foundation and operation of carbon test areas in the Voronezh and Tomsk regions were approved.

At the meeting of the Expert Council, Anton Shashkin, adviser to the Minister of Science and Higher Education, presented a report on the interim results of the project of carbon measurement supersites. He noted that ground measurements have already been deployed at all test sites, digital maps of sites have been generated using unmanned aerial vehicles, and 22 educational programs have been developed.

Among the main challenges facing the project, the development and replacement of foreign equipment with national counterparts was highlighted.

«To the date, test areas are engaged in the purchase of equipment. This is one of the major challenges, as prices have risen by 20-30%, and for some items, delivery times are up to 300 days. We have made adjustments to the list of equipment, which is posted on the site as a recommended one. We have adjusted it in terms of suppliers choice. We hope that we will soon introduce Russian counterparts of the equipment», - Anton Shashkin said.

Among the results of the activities of the Expert Center was the development of a methodological recommendations for organizing observations and measurements at test areas, which includes chamber observation, analysis of air, soil, water samples and also research activities involving drones. The purpose of this recommendation is to unify the measurement process at all sites.

Nikolay Durmanov, Special Representative of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation for Biological and Environmental Safety, urged, along with other types of carbon supersites, to open agricultural ones: «Most likely, agricultural products will be the first to be subject to cross-border taxes, which is also confirmed by the general nervous situation in the food markets. In this regard, it is important to open agricultural landfills, because the carbon footprint of our agricultural products is worrying». 

Nikolay Kurichev, Dean of the Faculty of Geography and Geoinformation Technologies, National Research University Higher School of Economics, presented the project of the Center for Natural and Climate Solutions, the purpose of which is scientific, expert, analytical, consulting and organizational support for the development of Russian natural and climate projects to achieve national goals for decarbonization and carbon neutrality.

Vice-Rector of the Russian University of Economics G.V. Plekhanova Ksenia Ekimova presented the project of the Center for the Development and Implementation of Digital Methods for the Implementation of Natural and Climate Projects. Ksenia Ekimova outlined the tasks of the center as the design of a digital platform for the construction of natural and climatic projects, the creation of a digital currency of carbon units and the training of personnel for the "green" industry.

At the end of the meeting, a vote was held to approve the submitted programs for the foundation of carbon measurements test areas in the Voronezh and Tomsk regions, as a result of which the programs were accepted.

To date, 13 carbon landfills are operating, which represent about 31.9% of the existing ecosystems in Russia. With the approval of the two new programs, the percentage of representative territories will increase to approximately 34%.

Initiative proposals for the creation of nine more carbon polygons were also approved, the applications of which were approved by a vote of members of the Expert Council.