Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Carbon credits · Russia · 2019–2026

Russian forest-climate projects: RUSAL fire-protection units and Sakhalin larch planting

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured. Disputed
What the record lacks: 5 none on record · 3 not disclosed · 1 not measured · 3 disputed · 1 unclear See the gaps
Accounts of the harm differ
Whether Russia's official forest absorption figures are reliable
  • Government and regulators Environment Ministry: A February 2021 directive counting unmanaged reserve forests like managed ones could add almost 0.5 billion tonnes of CO2 absorption a year. The Moscow Times
  • Communities and civil society Greenpeace Russia (Alexei Yaroshenko): Disputed the official sink claims and said fire-control zones should not count as managed forests. The Moscow Times
Whether the Sakhalin larch planting on bogs will deliver the stored biomass the project claims
  • Company or project Project 64-2023-00000006 (registry entry): Total biomass stored of 1,541,674.20 tCO2e and project emissions of 1,207.22 tCO2e. JSC Kontur
  • Researchers Unnamed member of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Scientific Council on Forests: Criticised monoculture conifer planting and expected the project to fail on bog peat. The Moscow Times

RUSAL Krasnoyarsk's aerial fire-protection project on 504,986 hectares earned Russian carbon units, and units from it were sold to a UAE fund in October 2024 in the first foreign transaction in Russia's registry. Registry operator, forestry agency and scientists have questioned forest-project quality in general, and one registered project plans to plant larch on bogs on Sakhalin.

1,229,080RUSAL project units in circulation in the registry
Project 04-2023-00000012, 504,986 ha; 121,974 further units retired. Registry data of 18 October 2026.

Status As of October 2026: the RUSAL project has 1,229,080 units in circulation and the Sakhalin larch project has issued none; a reserve account for reversal-risk forest units takes effect on 1 March 2027.

What?
RUSAL Krasnoyarsk's aerial fire-protection project earned carbon units that were sold in the first foreign transaction in Russia's registry; the registry operator, the forestry agency and scientists have questioned the quality of Russian forest-climate projects in general. JSC Kontur
Where?
Nizhne-Yeniseisky district, Krasnoyarsk Krai (504,986 ha), and Poronaysk district, Sakhalin Oblast (5,955.1 ha). JSC Kontur
When?
RUSAL project 2019–2033, verified 28 May 2024, foreign sale October 2024; Sakhalin larch project registered 8 September 2023. JSC Kontur
Who?
Gained
  • RUSAL Krasnoyarsk — 1,229,080 units in circulation and 121,974 retired; foreign sale price undisclosed JSC Kontur
  • Equity International (UAE) — Bought units to offset the carbon footprint of one of its assets RUSAL
  • Gazprombank — Arranged the transfer TASS
Lost
None on record
Harmed
  • Bog peat on Sakhalin — Planned larch plantations over 5,955.1 ha on non-forest land; no measured data on peat carbon effects JSC Kontur
Why?
Units are credited as increased absorption for airborne fire protection; the Sakhalin project plants larch to store biomass. JSC Kontur
How?
Aerial patrol and firefighting move the tract from unmanaged reserve forest to managed forest; units were transferred through Gazprombank to a UAE fund. JSC Kontur
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

RUSAL Krasnoyarsk's project 04-2023-00000012 earns carbon units as "increased absorption" for airborne fire protection of a 504,986 ha forest tract in the Nizhne-Yeniseisky forestry district near Yartsevo, Krasnoyarsk Krai. The project rests on a framework agreement of 17 April 2019 between RUSAL, the Krasnoyarsk Krai government and Rosleskhoz (the federal forestry agency); its start date is 19 July 2019 and end date 19 October 2033. The registry describes the tract as moved from unmanaged "reserve forests" to "managed forests", with aerial patrol and firefighting; the baseline states "any fire on this forest plot could become significant". The methodology was developed for the project in line with GOST R ISO 14064-2-2021, and the verifier was the Union for the Protection of Environmental Rights of the Population of Moscow Oblast (accreditation RA.RU.150015). Validation was positive on 28 November 2023, registration followed on 29 December 2023 and verification on 28 May 2024.

Verified results were 270,461 tCO2e (2019), 270,314 (2020), 270,368 (2021), 269,703 (2022) and 270,208 (2023), with 5,152,843 planned to 2033. The registry shows 1,229,080 units in circulation and 121,974 retired. RUSAL said units were issued in June 2024. Gazprombank arranged a transfer of units to Equity International, a UAE investment fund, announced on 17–18 October 2024 at the BRICS Business Forum in Moscow; the buyer used them to offset the carbon footprint of one of its assets, and volume and price were not disclosed. Kommersant reported in September 2025 that nearly 40% of the volume of carbon-unit and quota-unit deals that year were closed using results of RUSAL's forest-protection project.

Federal Law No. 492-FZ of 26 December 2024, in force from 1 January 2025, gave forest-climate projects a basis in the Forest Code, with projects run under an agreement with the federal forest oversight body. At a round table in March 2025 organised by the RSPP climate committee and the carbon-monitoring consortium, only 3 of 51 registry projects were forest projects (two reforestation, one fire protection). Vladimir Dmitriev of Rosleskhoz acknowledged quality problems in project documentation; Kontur CEO Oksana Gogunskaya said international buyers would not buy "home-made" methodologies and that forest projects lacked clear permanence guarantees and insurance; Vladimir Korotkov of the Institute of Global Climate and Ecology said developers used methodologies incorrectly and that monocultures harmed biodiversity; and Evgeny Shvarts of the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences called project quality low and most projects PR-oriented. A registry reserve account from 1 March 2027 will hold units from forestry, peatland and agroforestry projects at risk of reversal and cancel them if a release is confirmed.

Registry project 64-2023-00000006 on Sakhalin, run by OOO VTsL (Interfax names it OOO Vaninsky Forestry Centre, a resident of the Free Port of Vladivostok), plants Dahurian larch on non-forest land ("bogs") over 5,955.1 ha in 15 plots in the Poronaysk forestry district. It plans 1,515,282.92 units to 2102 with a crediting period from 1 September 2038 to 1 September 2102, a baseline accumulation of 25,184.06 tCO2e and registration on 8 September 2023; no units have been issued. The project's own claim is total biomass stored of 1,541,674.20 tCO2e and project emissions of 1,207.22 tCO2e. An unnamed member of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Scientific Council on Forests, quoted by The Moscow Times, criticised monoculture conifer planting and expected the Sakhalin project to fail on bog peat; the outlet's experts spoke anonymously because it is labelled a "foreign agent" in Russia.

On national accounting, a February 2021 Environment Ministry directive counted unmanaged "reserve" forests like managed ones, which the ministry said could add almost 0.5 billion tonnes of CO2 absorption a year; Greenpeace Russia's Alexei Yaroshenko disputed the official sink claims and said fire-control zones should not count as managed forests. Kommersant reported in December 2025 that at the end of 2024 Russia raised its forest absorption estimate by about 0.5 billion tonnes of CO2 a year, to about 1.2 billion tonnes. Science Minister Valery Falkov said in 2020 that at least 80 carbon polygons were needed to estimate how much carbon the environment absorbs, and presidential aide Andrey Fursenko linked the monitoring system to Russia's positions in international negotiations; The Moscow Times cited 18 polygons. The Research Centre "Carbon Polygon of NSU" acts as an accredited validator in the registry, for the Sakhalin larch project.

  1. 2019RUSAL project starts (19 July) under a framework agreement of 17 April 2019 with the Krasnoyarsk Krai government and Rosleskhoz
  2. 2023Sakhalin larch project registered (8 September); RUSAL project validated (28 November) and registered (29 December)
  3. 2024RUSAL project verified (28 May); units issued (June); first foreign transaction announced (17–18 October); Law 492-FZ signed (26 December)
  4. 2025Law 492-FZ in force (1 January); round table on forest-project quality (March); Kommersant reports nearly 40% of deal volume tied to RUSAL results (September)
  5. 2027Registry reserve account for reversal-risk projects takes effect (1 March)

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

“any fire on this forest plot could become significant”

Registry project description, RUSAL Krasnoyarsk project 04-2023-00000012 (translated) · 2023 · translated from Russian · JSC Kontur

“home-made”

Oksana Gogunskaya, CEO of Kontur, on methodologies international buyers would not buy (translated) · March 2025 · translated from Russian · Vedomosti

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

Whether Russia's official forest absorption figures are reliable
Government and regulators
Environment Ministry

A February 2021 directive counting unmanaged reserve forests like managed ones could add almost 0.5 billion tonnes of CO2 absorption a year.

The Moscow Times
Communities and civil society
Greenpeace Russia (Alexei Yaroshenko)

Disputed the official sink claims and said fire-control zones should not count as managed forests.

The Moscow Times
Whether the Sakhalin larch planting on bogs will deliver the stored biomass the project claims
Company or project
Project 64-2023-00000006 (registry entry)

Total biomass stored of 1,541,674.20 tCO2e and project emissions of 1,207.22 tCO2e.

JSC Kontur
Researchers
Unnamed member of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Scientific Council on Forests

Criticised monoculture conifer planting and expected the project to fail on bog peat.

The Moscow Times

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • The first voluntary forest offset project on aerial fire management in Russia; the commitment to carbon neutrality is a global economic trend.
    RUSAL (Elena Myakotnikova), press release of 21 October 2024 · RUSAL
  • The deal demonstrates the readiness of the registry infrastructure for international trade.
    Gazprombank (Ekaterina Salugina-Sorokovaya), as reported by TASS, 19 October 2024 · TASS
  • Prospects for a united BRICS carbon market.
    Equity International (Salem Humaid Almazaini), in the RUSAL release · RUSAL
  • Natural climate projects are gaining global priority over technological ones.
    RUSAL/En+ (Irina Bakhtina), as reported by Kommersant, 2025 · Kommersant

Recorded

  • RUSAL project 04-2023-00000012: 1,229,080 units in circulation, 121,974 retired, 5,152,843 planned to 2033; the registry shows 255,377 retired units in total.
    JSC Kontur
  • The registry lists two public files for the RUSAL project, the project location and the validation conclusion.
    JSC Kontur
  • Sale of RUSAL units to a UAE fund: volume and price not disclosed.
    RUSAL
  • At the March 2025 round table, 3 of 51 registry projects were forest projects.
    Vedomosti
  • Sakhalin larch project 64-2023-00000006: 5,955.1 ha, 1,515,282.92 units planned to 2102, no units issued.
    JSC Kontur

Who gained

Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

Reached nature or the ground

Not published
No figure published.

Gained elsewhere

Not totalled
State spending on climate projects including forest planting and absorption measurement (Deputy Economy Minister Torosov), per year≈ 10bn
Currency: RUB · Window: 2024. All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.

Responses on record

  • RUSAL (21 October 2024): Describes the project as the first voluntary forest offset project on aerial fire management in Russia and the commitment to carbon neutrality as a global economic trend. · RUSAL
  • Rosleskhoz (March 2025): Acknowledged quality problems in forest-climate project documentation (Vladimir Dmitriev). · Vedomosti
  • Kontur (March 2025): International buyers will not buy home-made methodologies; forest projects lack clear permanence guarantees and insurance (Oksana Gogunskaya). · Vedomosti

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

Insurers

No insurer decision on record.

What nature saw

Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

RUSAL fire-protection area
504,986 ha
Krasnoyarsk Krai tract, project 04-2023-00000012
Units in circulation
1,229,080
RUSAL project; 121,974 retired
Sakhalin larch planting
5,955.1 ha
On non-forest land (bogs); no units issued
Forest projects at round table
3 of 51
Registry projects that were forest projects, March 2025

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
No court caseNo independent ecological evaluationKey earnings undisclosed

Nature

  • Not measured Harm to nature: No independent ecological evaluation is on record.
  • Disputed Whether Russia's official forest absorption figures are reliable
  • Disputed Whether the Sakhalin larch planting on bogs will deliver the stored biomass the project claims

Court

Record

  • Not disclosed Not disclosed: volume and price of the units sold to Equity International (RUSAL, TASS).
  • Not disclosed Not disclosed: a verification report for the RUSAL project; the registry lists only two public files, the project location and the validation conclusion.
  • None on record None on record: independent measurement of fire outcomes in the RUSAL project area.
  • None on record None on record: measured data on the peat carbon effects of the Sakhalin larch planting on bogs.
  • None on record None on record: a study measuring the outcome of any registered Russian forest climate project.
  • None on record None on record: permanence guarantees and insurance for forest projects, according to the Kontur CEO (2025).
  • Unclear None on record: a regulator or registry cancelling or suspending a Russian forest carbon unit; all 141 registry projects show state active.
  • Disputed Disputed: official forest-sink figures, which Greenpeace Russia and independent scientists question.
  • Not disclosed Not disclosed: the budget of the state-funded carbon polygons.

Did the harm stop?

None on record.

Who paid?

None on record.

Sources

Voices on record: ✓ Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers✓ Standard-setters and registries

Company or project

Press and investigations

Standard-setters and registries

Connected cases

Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
Terms used on this page

Science and environment

Biomass, root-to-shoot ratio, carbon fraction
Biomass is the dry weight of living plants per hectare. The root-to-shoot ratio adds the weight of roots. The carbon fraction is the share of that weight that is carbon, about 47% in tropical forests.
Hectare (ha)
A unit of area equal to 10,000 square metres, about 2.5 acres. 100 hectares make one square kilometre.
Peatland
Wetland where layers of partly decayed plant matter build up over centuries and store large amounts of carbon.

Carbon and conservation finance

Baseline
The projected scenario of what would have happened without a project, such as an expected rate of deforestation. Credits are issued for the difference between the baseline and what actually happened, so an inflated baseline produces more credits.
Offset
Using carbon credits to balance emissions released elsewhere, so that a buyer can claim lower or zero net emissions.
Retired credit
A credit that has been used to make a climate claim and is permanently removed from circulation in the registry.
Standard-setter and registry
An organisation that writes the rules for carbon credits, approves projects, and records when credits are issued and retired. Such bodies typically charge fees per credit.
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