Regardless of the heavy decline during the country’s economic restructuring phase, Russia’s recent carbon emissions have been on an upward trend. In 1998–2010, Russia’s total greenhouse gas emissions went up by 10.7 percent.1 The International Energy Agency predicts 11.2 percent growth in Russia’s energy-related carbon dioxide emissions between 2009 and 2020. In comparison, carbon dioxide emissions in China and India are projected to grow by 41.4 percent and 47.7 percent, respectively. By contrast, emissions in the United States and the European Union are expected to decline by 0.2 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively.2
Russia also possesses the largest carbon sequestration capacity in the world. Its boreal forests, the largest forested region on earth, store large amounts of carbon. Additionally, about half of the Northern Hemisphere’s terrestrial carbon is locked in Russia, predominantly in its permafrost regions.3 Deforestation and the melting of permafrost as well as a growing amount of black carbon in snow-covered territories could have considerable implications for global efforts to effectively mitigate climate change.4