A Russian Green Investment Scheme

The document proposes a Green Investment Scheme (GIS) to recycle revenues from Russian Assigned Amount Units (AAUs) into environmental projects. It outlines two primary implementation paths: a 'programme approach' for small, simple efficiency projects and a 'project approach' for larger, unique investments. The report identifies significant institutional barriers in Russia, including a lack of a strong national focal point and poor reporting statistics, which hinder the eligibility of AAUs for trading. It analyzes the varying requirements of potential buyers: the EU emphasizes environmental integrity and strategic energy dialogue; Japan values good governance and a mix of quantifiable and non-quantifiable activities; and Canada prefers quantifiable, project-specific investments. The authors recommend prioritizing small-scale, technically simple projects in energy efficiency, fuel switching, and renewable energy to build momentum and reduce transaction costs.

• A Green Investment Scheme (GIS) is designed to earmark revenues from the sale of Assigned Amount Units (AAUs) for environmental purposes, ranging from capacity building to large-scale emission reduction projects.
• The report distinguishes between a 'programme approach,' which bundles smaller, simple projects like energy efficiency and renewable energy, and a 'project approach,' which focuses on larger, more complex individual projects.
• Russia faces significant institutional barriers to implementing a GIS, characterized by a 'vicious circle' where institutional confusion and ineffectiveness deter foreign investment, which in turn reduces the incentive for reform.
• To become eligible for emissions trading, Russia must ratify the Kyoto Protocol, calculate its assigned amount, establish a registry, and improve its national reporting and statistics to meet international standards.
• The European Union's interest in a GIS is driven by strategic energy dialogue and the desire to legitimise international emissions trading (IET), although its direct demand for AAUs may be low due to domestic policies and surplus units in accession countries.
• Japanese stakeholders generally welcome a GIS and prioritize good governance to ensure funds are not misused, supporting a variety of options including non-quantifiable activities like capacity building.
• Canadian stakeholders and the government prefer a 'greened' approach to surplus allowances, favoring quantifiable, project-specific investments over general programme funding to avoid simple wealth transfers.
• The authors recommend that early GIS projects should be small-scale (preferably under $1 million), technically simple, easy to verify, and quick to implement to create momentum and avoid long institutional delays.
• Priority project categories for a GIS in Russia include energy efficiency improvements, fuel switching (e.g., coal to gas or bio-fuel), renewable energy, and the refurbishment of gas and heat networks.

APA

Tangen, K., Korppoo, A., Berdin, V., Sugiyama, T., Egenhofer, C., Drexhage, J., Pluzhnikov, O., Grubb, M., Legge, T., Moe, A., Stern, J., & Yamaguchi, K. (n.d.). A Russian Green Investment Scheme. Climate Strategies. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/cs-gisfinalreport.pdf

Chicago

Tangen, Kristian, Anna Korppoo, Vladimir Berdin, Taishi Sugiyama, Christian Egenhofer, John Drexhage, Oleg Pluzhnikov, et al. A Russian Green Investment Scheme. Climate Strategies, n.d. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/cs-gisfinalreport.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{tangenndrussian, author = {Tangen, Kristian and Korppoo, Anna and Berdin, Vladimir and Sugiyama, Taishi and Egenhofer, Christian and Drexhage, John and Pluzhnikov, Oleg and Grubb, Michael and Legge, Thomas and Moe, Arild and Stern, Jonathan and Yamaguchi, Kenichiro}, title = {{A Russian Green Investment Scheme}}, institution = {Climate Strategies}, url = {https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/cs-gisfinalreport.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }