Carbon polygons must be important direction for Arctic nature reserves, expert says

Photo by Lev Fedoseyev/TASS MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. Russia’s nature reserves in the Arctic must organize carbon polygons jointly with Arctic universities and enterprises with the purpose to reduce the carbon footprint, Associate Professor at the Public Administration and Public Policy Department of the Institute of Social Sciences of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation (RANEPA), and coordinator of the Center for Development of the Arctic (PORA) Alexander Vorotnikov told TASS. "An important direction of work, done by nature reserves in the Arctic, must be organization and exploitation of climate polygons jointly with the Russian Arctic universities and industrial enterprises," he said. This work will result in reducing the carbon footprint and will raise the companies’ ESG rating, will offer for them advantages in working on the Asian markets, the expert added. Besides, he continued, the development of nature reserves with the purpose to preserve the bio diversity is impossible without a full-fledged and reasonable interaction between the state and businesses. "It would be necessary to organize a coordinating council between the nature reserves and companies, working in the Arctic, to work on major directions, mechanisms, including infrastructure mortgages and cooperation instruments, including green bonds," he said. "This will build up the nature reserves’ financing." Carbon polygons are areas that are organized to study climatically active (greenhouse) gases. At the polygons scientists develop and adapt technologies to measure aboveground and underground phytomasses, conduct agrochemical studies of soils, measure greenhouse gas emissions and analyze how ecosystems absorb greenhouse gases. At such areas scientists use the remote sensing technologies from the space or from unmanned platforms; they develop and adapt mathematical models to calculate carbon balance in ecosystems at reference sites. ESG parameters, which business uses in sustainable development strategies, are: the environment issues (E), the social sphere (S) and corporate governance standards (G). Many Western countries have been using ESG financing - a special approach to financing that includes environmental care, social development and corporate governance. This approach has become popular among Russian companies. Russia has been working on "green" financing, where a project funding is offered on the condition a business improves the environment, mitigates the climate change effects and uses resources most efficiently. Read more