St Petersburg University and Voeikov Main Geophysical Observatory submit an application to develop a carbon polygon in the Leningrad Region

St Petersburg University offers more than 20 academic programmes in Ecology and Nature Management, Soil Science, Geography, Hydrometeorology, Mechanics and Mathematical Modelling, and Physics to name just a few.

Today, developing the network of carbon polygons in Russia is among the most important scientific tasks to control climate-active gases and study the possibility of reducing carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere by using the absorptive capacity of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. This is consistent with the key objectives of the national project ’Ecology’ that is aimed at reducing air pollution and controlling the emission of pollutants.

The project of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation is to become one of the key elements in the development of a reliable national system for monitoring greenhouse gas flows.

’The climate agenda is one of the priorities of the government of the Leningrad Region for the coming years. To achieve carbon neutrality in the region, regulatory decisions are important, as is active participation of business and science,’ commented Dmitry Yalov, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Leningrad Region for Economic Development and Investment Activity.

The network of carbon polygons is being developed with the financial support of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation and industrial partners. The idea of ​​creating a joint Ladoga polygon in the village of Voeikovo in the Leningrad Region was also supported by foreign partners of St Petersburg University and the Main Geophysical Observatory: the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the University of Southern Denmark, and Universität Hamburg.

The project to develop a carbon polygon is much in demand and it will ensure that we will perform a comprehensive scientific assessment of the absorption capacity of the ecosystems of the Leningrad Region, according to Dmitry Yalov, a representative of the Government of the Leningrad Region.

’Carboniferous polygons are territories with special natural ecosystems, where special equipment is installed to measure the emission and absorption of climatically active gases. For more than 20 years, St Petersburg University has been conducting focused research commissioned by regional public sector and businesses and taking part in international programmes to study climate change. The high qualification of the University’s scientists, the developed network of academic partners and the state-of-the-art equipment and infrastructure of the University’s Research Park ensure the highest level of the project,’ said Sergey Mikushev, Vice-Rector for Research at St Petersburg University.

Today, there are ten carbon polygons in Russia. Yet there is not any of them in the Leningrad Region. At the end of 2021, St Petersburg University came up with the initiative to develop the Ladoga carbon polygon. This was supported by the Main Geophysical Observatory. They expressed their readiness to provide a land plot with a total area of ​​150 hectares and scientific and economic infrastructure to ensure the operation of the carbon polygon in the village of Voeikovo.

’For more than 30 years, the Voeikov Main Geophysical Observatory has been monitoring the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases in the Russian Federation. This includes at the experimental base in the village of Voeikovo, where it is planned to develop a carbon polygon. The measurements are carried out in accordance with the recommendations of the programme of the Global Atmosphere Watch Programme. The Main Geophysical Observatory is the only Russian organisation that supplies data to the WDCGG (World Data Centre for Greenhouse Gases). The quality of the MGO data is confirmed by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Greenhouse Gas Bulletin. Cooperation between the Main Geophysical Observatory and St Petersburg University in the field of greenhouse gas monitoring is rich in history. I am sure that the experience and qualifications of our organisations will be extremely useful both for the development of a network of carbon polygon in general, and for solving the problem of assessing the contribution of natural ecosystems in Russia to the balance of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,’ commented Vladimir Kattsov, Director of the Main Geophysical Observatory.

The project of St Petersburg University and the Main Geophysical Observatory also involves developing a carbon polygon and a rapidly deployable measuring observatory. This is the so-called mobile polygon for the operational study of greenhouse gas sources and sinks both inside and outside the polygon. This combination will significantly increase the coverage of the territory of the Leningrad Region and its landscapes in order to obtain more accurate information.

’According to the current legislation in Russia, the polygon can be regarded as a climate investment project and serve as a means of reducing risks from the planned introduction of a transboundary carbon tax under the European Green Deal,’ said Nadezhda Pakhomova, Professor in the Department of Economic Theory at St Petersburg University.

According to Professor Pakhomova, such cooperation can also increase the investment attractiveness of an industrial partner by improving: its non-financial reporting indicators; positions in the ESG rankings; and the social and environmental reputation of the business as a whole. It also expands business financing opportunities in new green segments of the financial market, provides access to a wider range of financial instruments, and reduces the cost of financing.

’After developing the polygon and technologies for monitoring the balance of greenhouse gases, we plan to assess the absorption capacity of ecosystems and develop alternative technologies for using carbon. The results obtained, in the presence of a financial and economic justification and positive economic effects, will enable us to start creating a carbon farm and implement other climate projects,’ said Mariia Makarova, Senior Research Associate in the Department of Atmospheric Physics at St Petersburg University and one of the developers of the Ladoga carbon polygon project.

Carbon units are an intangible currency, a unit to measure reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which can significantly accelerate the process of decarbonisation of the economy and reduce the amount of CO2 emitted. Thus, enterprises that reduce the negative impact on the environment will have a large number of carbon units, confirming their participation in climate projects.

The carbon farm is the next stage of work within the framework of the project, a place with conditions necessary for the practical use of carbon dioxide absorption technologies. Scientists will be able to quickly apply their own developments and use the resources of the ecosystems of the Leningrad Region to reduce environmental harm.

Among the main features of the Ladoga project is an integrated approach. It brings together physicists, chemists, biologists, economists, and lawyers to solve scientific problems within the framework of the carbon polygon. Experts are to pay great attention to the economic component, deal with issues of issuing carbon units, and carry out other projects for the capture, storage and processing of carbon-containing compounds.