Launch of Pilot Carbon Polygons in Russia and Their Importance

Today: Review

M. S.-U. Khaliev

, M. A. Saltamigov

and A. M. Bagov

Kadyrov Chechen State University, 32 Sheripov Street, Grozny, Russia

Kabardino-Balkarian State University, st. Chernyshevsky 173, Nalchik, Russia

Keywords: Carbon polygons, carbon units, global climate change, carbon tax, carbon dioxide, environmental safety.

Abstract: With the growth of the population in recent decades, the need to increase the production of goods, food,

machinery, vehicles and other related products was also inevitable. To meet these requirements, it is necessary

to increase mass production. The by-product of such events can be a massive release of unwanted chemicals

into the atmosphere, mainly CO2, as it causes the most damage to the environment, completely rebuilding

and, in the worst case, destroying well-established ecosystems or environments. If to be put in simplest form

Global warming. In recent times, one can view the global warming as a trendy issue, which is actually a more

complex and dangerous problem if it gets out of control. Therefore, the problem is taken into the category of

mandatory. Carbon polygons were cited as a possible solution to the problem, as they would be used as

research sites to better understand unwanted CO2 emissions and how to control and reduce them. Hence, this

article discusses such a concept as carbon polygons, what they are, how they work, why they are needed and

what importance they have for now and in the near future.

1 INTRODUCTION

It is hard to imagine how humanity would have

progressed without such hydrocarbon energy sources

as coal, oil and gas. Indeed, due to their ease of

extraction, efficiency and availability, they have

become one of the main prerequisites for the rapid

development of the industry. However, we have had

to pay dearly for the use of these non-renewable

resources. Their use entailed a strong negative impact

on the environment, which caused global climate

change, which is understood as part of the general

changes in the natural environment on Earth, due to

changes in the heat balance of the atmosphere, ocean

water circulation and the water cycle, fluctuations in

solar activity, space and anthropogenic factors. In the

future, the negative consequences of these changes

can become catastrophic for the world community.

Already, many countries are facing increased

intensity of fires, droughts and floods. In this regard,

the topic of the need to take decisive measures to

reduce anthropogenic emissions and increase the

absorption of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere

has often been raised. The world community realized

that further uncontrolled use of hydrocarbons would

only aggravate the situation and decided to take the

issue seriously. Taking beforementioned statements

into consideration the Kyoto Protocol was signed

first, and then the Paris Agreement, which were

supposed to reduce the amount of CO2 emissions into

the atmosphere. In particular, countries that have

signed the Paris climate agreement need to keep the

increase in global average temperature within 1.5-

2°Ϲ until the end of the 21st century compared to the

pre-industrial period. Those countries that are not

very successful in this will start to pay: their products

exported to the European Union will be subject to a

special tax. In 2019, Russia also signed it. Later,

Russian scientists were tasked with developing a

methodology for measuring emissions and removals

of greenhouse gases. To accomplish this task, in

February 2021, the Ministry of Science and Higher

Education of the Russian Federation, by order No. 74

dated February 5, launched a pilot project to create

carbon polygons in the regions of Russia for the

development and testing of carbon balance control

technologies (figure 1) (Carbon Polygons.

https://carbon-polygons.ru; Carbon Polygons.

https://minobrnauki.gov.ru/action/poligony/).

350

Khaliev, M., Saltamigov, M. and Bagov, A.

Launch of Pilot Carbon Polygons in Russia and Their Importance Today: Review.

DOI: 10.5220/0011571700003524

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Methods, Models, Technologies for Sustainable Development (MMTGE 2022) - Agroclimatic Projects and Carbon Neutrality, pages

350-354

ISBN: 978-989-758-608-8

 2023 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Figure 1: Map of carbon polygons.

2 WHAT ARE CARBON

POLYGONS?

According to the official website of the Ministry of

Science and Higher Education of the Russian

Federation, «carbon polygons are territories with a

unique ecosystem created to implement measures to

control climate active gases with the participation of

universities and scientific organizations» (Carbon

Polygons and Carbon Offsets.

https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/16008).

Simply put, these are areas specially designated

for the study of the ability of various plants to absorb

carbon.

The aim of the project is to study the carbon

balance in the ecosystems of the Russian Federation

and the development on this basis of technologies for

monitoring carbon runoff and emission, as well as

methods for calculating the carbon balance for

different types of ecosystems. Moreover, the

theoretical knowledge obtained as a result of research

should be tested on real and critical conditions and put

into practice.

The landfills should work for at least 15 years, but

the creators expect their activities will never stop.

It is expected that in the near future several dozen

carbon test sites will be created and their network will

cover the entire territory of Russia (Magomedov,

2020; Magomedov, 2021).

3 WHAT ACTIVITIES WILL BE

CARRIED OUT AT THE

CARBON LANDFILL?

The most important research in the field of ecology

will be carried out at the carbon polygons

(Recyclemag, 2021):

• experiments to measure the emission and

absorption of greenhouse gases using ground

and remote methods to assess the spatial and

temporal variability of the flows of climatically

active gases;

• development and adaptation of ground-based

technologies for field and forestry

agrochemical control of soils and respiration of

greenhouse gases;

• development and adaptation of technologies for

remote accounting of above-ground and below-

ground phytomass, rhizosphere, agrochemical

control of soils and respiration of greenhouse

gases;

• development and adaptation of mathematical

models for primary gross productivity, primary

net productivity, net CO2 exchange between

the ecosystem and the atmosphere, respiration

and other parameters of the carbon balance of

ecosystems in reference areas;

• Development of technology for assimilation of

heterogeneous data (satellite and terrestrial;

(Tomsk region)

(Novosibirsk region)

Sakhalin region

Launch of Pilot Carbon Polygons in Russia and Their Importance Today: Review

351

inventory, remote and direct measurements)

into a common model of sources and sinks on

the territory of the region and the Russian

Federation. Verification with direct ground;

• Search for the most suitable plants for

absorption;

In addition to research work, educational

activities will also be carried out at the test sites:

• training of highly qualified personnel in the

field of the latest methods of environmental

control, promising technologies for the low-

carbon industry, agriculture and municipal

economy;

• creation of special training programs;

• popularization of science among students and

schoolchildren.

4 CARBON POLYGONS IN THE

CHECHEN REPUBLIC

The Chechen Republic became one of the first

subjects of the Russian Federation, which took part in

the creation of a network of carbon polygons. In 2021,

a «WAY CARBON» carbon polygon was created on

its territory with a total area of 1785 hectares. Two

universities decided to take part in the program at

once, Kadyrov Chechen State University and the

Grozny State Oil Technical University named after

Academician M. D. Millionshchikov. Kadyrov

Chechen State University became the operator of a

carbon polygon for growing and researching plants

with high sequestration potential. Research in the

field of ecological monitoring of the environment,

including the analysis of the impact of oil pollution

and geothermal sources on the formation of the

carbon footprint, was undertaken by the Grozny State

Oil Technical University named after Academician

M. D. Millionshchikov.

"WAY CARBON" will specialize in the

following activities:

• Assessment of the sequestration potential of

various soils and ecosystems, including those

in foothill and mountainous areas (Zubrzycki,

2014);

• Study of the impact of regenerative animal

husbandry on the sequestration potential of

pastures;

• Efficient use of sequestration technologies in

pastures;

• Creation of carbon farms in the regions of the

Chechen Republic;

• Assessment of the impact of agrochemical

stimulation of vegetation growth in the plains,

foothills and mountains;

• Carrying out selection work to create new

breeds of vegetation (or adaptation of existing

ones) with increased commercial, sequestration

and growth characteristics;

• Monitoring of the ecological species

composition of vegetation, biotic and abiotic

stress, control of disturbances in the use of

water resources, as well as general ecological

control and monitoring of the environment.

Research activities will also be carried out:

• Assessment of the variability of the agro-

climatic conditions of the North Caucasus in

connection with global climate change;

• Interpretation of remote sensing data using

artificial intelligence methods to study the

carbon balance of mountain and foothill

ecosystems (on the example of the Chechen

Republic) (Fuentes, 2020);

• Study of the sequestration and emission

potential of the «EcoGrozny» carbon polygon

and the development of science-based

decarbonization technologies (on the example

of the Chechen Republic);

• Ecological diagnostics of carbon sequestration

in the landscapes of the Chechen Republic;

• Study of greenhouse gas emissions by ground

methods when fallow lands are involved in

agricultural turnover;

• Study of the sequestration potential of pasture

and meadow phytocenoses of the Chechen

Republic.

Due to the lack of necessary personnel, various

educational programs have been developed:

geoinformatics, geoecology, veterinary and sanitary

expertise, and others.

In addition, Kadyrov Chechen State University

and the Grozny State Oil Technical University named

after Academician M. D. Millionshchikov decided to

educate the population about the activities and goals

of the carbon polygons, future biotechnologies and

renewable energy sources. Summer schools will be

held annually on various topics for people of different

ages and professions, including for middle and high

school students.

MMTGE 2022 - I International Conference "Methods, models, technologies for sustainable development: agroclimatic projects and carbon

neutrality", Kadyrov Chechen State University Chechen Republic, Grozny, st. Sher

352

Figure 2: Way Carbon (photo by Andrey Kasatkin - Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University "LETI").

5 THE IMPORTANCE OF

CARBON POLYGONS IN OUR

TIME

First of all, the importance of carbon polygons

undoubtedly lies in conducting research on the

emission and deposition (absorption) of greenhouse

gases, since global climate change in nature can have

a negative impact on the lives of citizens of the

Russian Federation, and this is a threat to national

security.

Also, due to the decision taken by the EU to make

its economy climate neutral by 2050, exporting

companies in Russia will have to pay a cross-border

tax in the coming years.

In addition, based on the knowledge gained from

the carbon landfills, carbon farms will be created,

areas where the same knowledge will be applied in

practice.

They are needed in order to create such natural

conditions that carbon dioxide will be deposited

(absorbed) as efficiently as possible. If one talks

about polygons with an emphasis on scientific

research, then carbon farms are also a commercial

project. Owners of sites with vegetation that absorbs

large amounts of carbon dioxide and other

greenhouse gases can produce carbon credits and

become participants in an emissions trading system

that companies will buy to avoid paying carbon taxes.

Also, a bonus is that there will be a strong demand for

such “green” professions as climatologists,

ecologists, botanists, geologists, geographers and

even IT (for collecting and analyzing large amounts

of information).

6 CONCLUSIONS

Based on the above, one can conclude that carbon

polygons occupy one of the key roles in the

development of the Russian Federation, since only in

this way can it take a leading position in the "green"

race without harming the economy.

REFERENCES

Carbon Polygons. https://carbon-polygons.ru.

Zubrzycki, S., Kutzbach, L., Pfeiffer, E.-M., 2014.

Permafrost-affected soils and their carbon pools with a

focus on the Russian Arctic. Solid Earth. 5. pp. 595–

609.

Carbon Polygons.

https://minobrnauki.gov.ru/action/poligony/.

Magomedov, I. A., et. al., 2020. IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth

Environ. Sci. 548. 032029.

Recyclemag, Svetlana S., 2021. How Russia creates a

network of carbon landfills and why they are needed.

Launch of Pilot Carbon Polygons in Russia and Their Importance Today: Review

353

https://recyclemag.ru/article/rossiya-sozdaet-

karbonovih-poligonov-zachem-nuzhni.

Magomedov, I. A., et. al. 2021. IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth

Environ. Sci. 677. 032109.

Fuentes, M. S., Zelaya, N. A. L., Avila, J. L. O., 2020.

Coffee Fruit Recognition Using Artificial Vision and

neural NETWORKS. 5th International Conference on

Control and Robotics Engineering (ICCRE). pp. 224-

228.

Carbon Polygons and Carbon Offsets.

https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/16008.

MMTGE 2022 - I International Conference "Methods, models, technologies for sustainable development: agroclimatic projects and carbon

neutrality", Kadyrov Chechen State University Chechen Republic, Grozny, st. Sher

354