Carbon Neutrality and Tax Incentives

Vladimir V. Gromov – Senior Researcher of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Candidate of Economic Sciences (Moscow, Russia). E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

It is generally accepted to consider climate change regulation at the state as well international level. And attention to the problem of global warming will only grow in the coming decade. This is especially important for Russia because by 2030 greenhouse gas emissions should be reduced to 70% compared to 1990. This is the task which President of Russia Vladimir V. Putin has set for the Russian government. The movement in this direction has already been launched, as evidenced by the experiment to achieve carbon neutrality in the Sakhalin region.

The «green» policy vector simultaneously raised the issue of granting tax incentives to participants of climate projects in the form proposed by the Russian Ministry of Economic Development in 2021. Therefore, the article highlights the determinants of the territory choice for carrying out mentioned experiment and identifies shortcomings of the proposed concept of tax incentives. The article concludes with recommendations for their elimination.

Key words: carbon neutrality, carbon unit, climate policy, global warming, greenhouse gas emissions, investment, regional economy, tax incentive, tax policy, tax system.

JEL-codes: E62, Q54.