Russia sets minimum carbon offset price

Russia has established a minimum price for carbon offsets under the environmental legislation of the Kyoto Protocol.

Earlier this week, a letter was sent to firms informing them that the minimum price of €10 (£8.24) per tonne would be applied for any credit sales on energy projects.

It stated that schemes will only be approved under the Kyoto Protocol if they are above this limit, Point Carbon News reported.

Speaking to Reuters, market analysts IDEAcarbon suggested that setting a minimum price "is an effective way to protect project developers from volatile market prices".

The Kyoto pact stipulates that companies can receive offsets which can be sold for profit by investing in carbon-cutting projects.

Countries signed up to the Kyoto Protocol may not be bound by the environmental legislation for much longer, after an article in New Scientist stated that there are "big uncertainties" regarding its members' carbon emission results, suggesting it might be an ineffective means of preventing climate change.

Posted by Joseph Hutton