Legal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions reduction in Russia and France.

Kozlov Albert Valerievitch Postgraduate student; Department of Integration and European Law; Kutafin Moscow Law Law Institute Leading Lawyer; Skif Consulting LLC 129345, Russia, Moscow, Losinoostrovsky district, Taininskaya str., 8, sq. 85 albertkozlov27@gmail.com

Anthropogenic impact on the climate is one of the main problems for the society of the 21st century and requires, albeit systematic, but immediate adoption by mankind of actions that contribute to reducing the harmful effects on the environment.
Despite the fact that the issues of legal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions control have become the subject of research by such Russian scientists as V.B. Agafonov, I.V. Gudkov, N.G. Zhavoronkova, O.A. Zinovieva, A.A. Shirov, A.Yu. Kolpakov, N.V. Kravchuk and others, the issues of comparative regulation of control systems Greenhouse gas emissions in Russia and France have not been previously considered by domestic scientists. The purpose of this study is to conduct, using a comparative legal method, an analysis of the regulatory framework of Russia and France in the field of greenhouse gas emissions control, which will result in recommendations and conclusions that will help improve current regulation.

The contribution of such an international body as The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which forms the assessment of scientific knowledge in the field of climate change around the world in the form of assessment reports. For example, the Fifth Synthesis Assessment Report formed the basis of the 2015 Paris Agreement, a universal international treaty regulating the fight against climate change.

Special attention should be paid to the Sixth Summary Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), approved on March 19, 2023 in Switzerland, which systematizes the results of the scientific activities of the expert group over the past 6-7 years. Its value lies not only in collecting statistical data for past periods, but also in predicting the degree of anthropogenic impact in the future, including in offering solutions for implementing climate-resilient development. Thus, I.V. Gudkov mentions a significant political weight and its high strategic importance ^[1]. One cannot disagree with the scientist's opinion, given that the IPCC includes representatives from 195 participating countries, which makes this body universal, and its reports become the basis for international treaties in the field of climate.

The main environmental impact is greenhouse gases, which have raised the temperature of the planet by 1.1 degrees Celsius over the past fifty years, a percentage that has not been raised in the past two thousand years. And according to the report's estimates, in a bad scenario, if greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase, temperatures could rise by another 4.4 degrees Celsius by 2081-2100.

According to Hosung Lee, Chairman of the IPCC, "This Synthesis Report highlights the urgent need for more ambitious action and shows that if we act now, we can still ensure a livable and sustainable future for all."^[2]

The WMO report dated June 05, 2024 predicts a probable (47%) overcoming of the 1.5 degree Celsius mark already for the period from 2024 to 2028. Studies by Russian scientists also speak about the "obvious" warming ^[3].

The Paris Agreement, as one of the main documents mediating binding regulation in the field of climate change, provides for the following main quantitative obligations for the participating States:

- keep the increase in the average global temperature "well below 2 degrees Celsius", and make every effort to keep it below 1.5 degrees Celsius;

- To bring financial flows into a development direction characterized by low emissions and high resistance to climate change.

Thus, according to A.E. Kuteynikov, this agreement also additionally "gave cities the right to vote in interstate climate negotiations" ^[4].

Taking into account the dynamics of temperature growth indicated above, the countries participating in the Treaty have very little time left to comply with their obligations.

The Russian Federation signed the Paris Agreement in 2016 and ratified it in 2019, resulting in the need to adopt new internal regulations aimed at addressing and implementing international obligations stipulated by this agreement.

That is why it is interesting to analyze the regulation of carbon policy aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the Russian Federation in comparison with other countries, which, along with the United States, the EU, China and India, are the main countries that pollute the environment.

The implementation of the assumed quantitative restrictions resulted in the adoption by the Russian Federation of No. 296-FZ "On Limiting Greenhouse Gas Emissions" dated 07/02/2021, which establishes principles and measures to reduce greenhouse gases, introduces a register of carbon units, lays the foundations for the circulation of carbon units and the functioning of climate projects. For the first time, the aforementioned law established the rights and obligations of issuers and participants of climate projects.

Thus, the equivalent of the "Kyoto mechanism" appeared on the domestic market. Currently, some large Russian companies are voluntarily participating in carbon regulation through participation in climate projects. At the same time, an experiment on the introduction of the carbon units market is being actively carried out in the territory of the Sakhalin Republic until 2028, the positive results of which should be extended as an experiment to other regions in 2025.

One cannot but agree with R. Y. Skokov and M.A. Guzenko that "global changes at the international level are noticeably reflected at the national, regional and micro levels, therefore, further reduction of greenhouse gas emissions will be achieved by individual efforts of states, regions, municipalities, companies" ^[5]. One of the confirmations of scientists' opinion may be There has been a multiple increase in the number of climate projects at the Russian company level: from 6 climate projects as of July 2023 to 52 climate projects as of February 2025.

This issue has also developed in the international arena. Thus, one of the results of the UN International Conference on Climate Change CoP29 in November 2024 in Baku was the agreement on international agreements in the field of carbon markets.

Pursuant to Federal Law No. 296-FZ "On Greenhouse Gas Reduction", the Government Decree of October 29, 2021 adopted The strategy of socio-economic development of the Russian Federation with a low level of greenhouse gas emissions until 2050

This document is a strategic planning tool, sets goals that need to be achieved, and outlines ways to achieve these goals.

Thus, according to A. A. Shirov and A. Y. Kolpakov, for effective sustainable development, this document lacks "structural and technological modernization," according to which "the possibilities of structural maneuvering of the economy with available resources should be analyzed, taking into account the real existing development constraints. In fact, we are talking about an additional dimension of modernization policy with appropriate management and financing tools" ^[6].

One cannot but agree with the opinions of scientists that, at the time of its adoption, the Strategy did not envisage the introduction of a sanctions regime by Western states in 2022, given how negatively they affected trade between the EU and Russia.

The next strategic planning tool is the climate doctrines approved by the President.

In 2023 By Presidential Decree No. 812 "On Approval of the Climate Doctrine of the Russian Federation" dated October 26, 2023, a new climate doctrine was adopted, which set ambitious goals, including achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, as well as achieving a balance between greenhouse gas emissions and their absorption.

This document sets out the main directions and methods of combating global warming.

At the moment, there is no official comprehensive or operational plan at the federal level for the implementation of the 2023 Climate Doctrine or the 2021 low-carbon Strategy, which hinders the effective implementation of these documents. Socio-economic development strategies are represented by general documents in their content.

However, the provisions outlined in the doctrine provide directions for solving problems.

Thus, among the methods of combating greenhouse gas emissions, the use of natural ecosystems and mitigation monitoring methods are singled out separately.

Taking into account the geography and resources that the Russian Federation has, decarbonization using natural ecosystems and the use of low-emission resources seems to be one of the most effective methods of combating greenhouse gases and distinctive for Russia. These areas were also outlined by the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation during the international climate conference CoP29, which was held in November 2024 in Baku: "By 2060, we plan to achieve carbon neutrality. We focus on improving energy efficiency, developing electric transport, and introducing modern solutions to agriculture and forestry. In Russia, 85% of the energy mix is accounted for by clean, low-emission generation. This is primarily gas and nuclear energy, from renewable sources" ^[7].

D. N. Veselova also mentions the potential of natural ecosystems in her research, separately highlighting measures for reforestation and production of carbon farms.^[8]

However, despite their potential, the necessary basis for the successful use of natural ecosystems and the control of greenhouse gas emissions is analytical data obtained through monitoring systems, which was repeatedly mentioned both in the framework of research by scientists and in the framework of the international conference CoP29, which was held in November 2024 in Baku.

So, according to A. N. Shokhin: "Natural ecosystems have great potential. Moreover, some of this potential does not require additional investments, but only requires more accurate data collection and accounting. These and other cost-effective measures should form the basis of a plan for implementing a low-carbon Development Strategy" ^[9].

In Russia, according to N.V. Kondratiev, Director of Multilateral Economic Cooperation and Special Projects at the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, "its own system for monitoring and forecasting climate change is being formed, green financing tools and science for climate decision-making are actively developing, and a taxonomy of green projects and transition projects has been adopted."

According to the press release of the Ministry of Economic Development dated 08.10.2024, the first stage of implementation The "Russian Climate Monitoring System" has been completed.

Thus, it can be concluded that at this stage there is a symbiosis of instruments for measuring and evaluating climate measurements and instruments for controlling climate emissions. Control and monitoring tools will subsequently become an integral part of the carbon market, including in the framework of establishing quota violations. Thus, starting from June 1, 2023, the greenhouse gas registry was launched in Russia ^[10].

Thus, the regulation of greenhouse gases in Russia as a whole can be described as being at the stage of transition from analytics to action. Despite the consolidation of common goals and specific responsibilities of the issuing entities, at this stage the foundation continues to be formed, the analytical foundation in the form of federal instruments for measuring, collecting and evaluating data, on the basis of which specific regulation is built, the effectiveness of the measures introduced is assessed. Moreover, taking into account the results and conclusions of the CoP29 conference, the Russian Federation undoubtedly expects international cooperation in the field of carbon markets, at least within the EAEU.

It is interesting to see what restrictions on greenhouse gases are in force in the European space, in one of its member states, the locomotive of the green agenda - France.

France is a party to the Paris Agreement both as a member state of the European Union, which ratified the Treaty in 2016, and as a nation-state.

In the European Union, the obligations established by the Paris Treaty are implemented through the supranational strategy "European Green Course", the so-called "Green Deal" ^[11], launched in 2019 as an initiative of the European Commission, headed by Ursula Von der Leyen.

The Green Deal is a more general document than Directives or Regulations and sets out the global goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050, with interim results by 2030 (the "Fit for 55" Program). This strategy also provides for the possibility of introducing tools that contribute to achieving the goal into all Policies of the European Union, in particular, focusing on four main concepts such as: climate transition, energy transition, industrial transition and social transition, each of which has its own implementation plan.

This strategy is similar in concept to the low-carbon development strategy and climate doctrine adopted in the Russian Federation.

Some authors criticize the Green Deal, focusing in particular on global issues such as equitable financing of transitions, increased unemployment due to transitions, higher prices for energy resources, and problems related to decision-making mechanisms at the European level that require the unanimity of participating countries.

Thus, in their research, L. Franza, M. Bianchi, L. Bergamasci argue that "The global race for zero carbon emissions will change global energy supply chains. The introduction of environmentally friendly energy technologies will change production, trade and patterns of dependence" ^[12].

P. Casalino notes in his work that such a symbiosis of transitions (climatic, energy, industrial and social), "on the one hand sets ambitious goals, but on the other hand requires a significant paradigm shift for many sectors of the economy and Society" ^[13]. In our opinion, we should agree with the scientist's opinion and additionally note that the beginning of the "war of sanctions" made the symbiosis of transitions even more difficult.

The supranational European strategy is actually implemented through adopted national regulations.

Pursuant to the Paris Treaty, on November 8, 2019, France adopted Law No. 2019-1147 "On Energy and Climate" ^[14], which amended the Energy Code and the Environmental Code of France, in particular, setting goals, responsibilities and indicators that France must achieve by 2030 and 2050.

The Energy and Climate Act also served as the basis for the adoption of the new French low-carbon strategy in April 2020. A distinctive feature of French national legislation is that key documents contributing to decarbonization are consolidated at the national level earlier than at the European level. The first low-carbon strategy was adopted back in 2015. The strategy sets both short-term binding goals and medium-term goals, targeting areas such as transportation, buildings, industry, agriculture, energy production, and waste.

In general, the content of this strategy is similar to the Russian low-carbon development strategy. One of the differences is that in the Russian Federation, two scenarios are initially considered: inertial, unacceptable, and intensive (targeted). In France, negative scenarios are not considered.

Considerable attention in France is paid to climate change monitoring systems and greenhouse gas emission control systems.

The regulation of monitoring systems can be divided into 2 levels: supranational and national.

At the European level, Regulation 2018/1999 of December 11, 2018 "On the Management of the Energy Union and measures to combat Climate Change" ^[15] is in force, which establishes the obligation to establish monitoring at the national level, as well as the submission and publication of relevant reports, both to European authorities and at the UN level.

At the national level, the monitoring of France's national low-carbon strategy is based on a set of indicators. The main 16 performance indicators compare the goals set and the results achieved and are updated annually after the publication of greenhouse gas emission inventories.

These monitoring mechanisms allow, in collaboration with stakeholders, to analyze both industry and general trends, and how effective actions are in relation to goals.

In parallel with this monitoring, the High Climate Council, France's independent advisory body responsible for informing policy makers on medium- and long-term goals, provides an assessment report on France's climate actions, and in particular, publishes annually report on compliance with the emission reduction trajectory.

As part of the consideration of the issue of national monitoring systems in France, it is necessary to single out the French non-profit organization Citepa, a state operator engaged in conducting research and analysis of the atmosphere, directly monitoring and reporting on its results.

It is this organization that conducts national climate monitoring in France, which can be represented in the form of two main monitoring systems.

Monitoring in the "Secten" format, in which greenhouse gas emissions are distributed across 7 sectors of the economy: energy, manufacturing, housing/tertiary sector, transport, agriculture, waste, land use and forestry. This registry is updated on an annual basis.

The monitoring system "Barometer" also operates in France.

This monitoring system meets the need for response related to climate and air quality emergencies. Citepa publishes monthly estimates of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants for the current year. This system allows you to track the dynamics of emissions by month of the current year and compare emissions by month with the previous year. The report is compiled quarterly.

The national accounting of greenhouse gases provides an objective picture of emissions in France by major industries. It is achieved through the application of methodological principles defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The data is presented in a simple form that is accessible to any user.

The annual national accounting of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants in France has been Citepa's main focus for over 20 years.

In addition, the EU Executive Regulation (UE) 2018/2066 of December 19, 2018 "On the control and declaration of greenhouse gas emissions" ^[16] establishes the obligation of issuers to report on greenhouse gas emissions.

The next pillar working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is a functioning carbon market, regulated at both the national and supranational levels.

The carbon market mechanism is a trade turnover surplus exceeding the established quota limits. In France, auctions are conducted through a government auction. The introduction of the mechanism includes both quantitative restrictions in the form of quotas and an incentive effect in the form of an opportunity to sell the remaining quota for greenhouse gases.

At the international, national and subnational levels, more than 50 different carbon markets have been implemented as key policies to promote greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions in a cost-effective and flexible manner, and several more are under development or under consideration (World Bank, 2021) ^[17].

In the European Union, the carbon market is implemented on the basis of Directive 2003/87 ^[18].

The norms of the directive are incorporated into the French Environmental Code and are presented in chapter IX "Greenhouse gases" in section 2 "Quotas for greenhouse gas emissions" ^[19].

The basis for the effective functioning of the carbon market is the executive and delegated regulations (EU Regulation 2019/331 of 12/19/2018 (On the allocation of quotas on a gratuitous basis), EU Regulation 2018/2066 of 12/19/2018 (On the declaration of greenhouse gas emissions), EU Regulation 2018/2067 of 12/19/2018 (On conducting data checks and accreditation), Regulation 2023/2830 of 17.10.2023 (On the procedure for bidding quotas), Regulation 2019/1122 of 12.03.2019. (About maintaining the quota register).

Thus, this article analyzes the current regulation of greenhouse gas emissions reduction in Russia and France, and addresses the issue of the functioning of carbon markets.

The Russian and European (French) systems of legal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions are similar, the global goals are almost identical, except for the different date of achieving carbon neutrality.

After analyzing and comparing the two models of legal regulation of greenhouse gas restrictions, it is important to emphasize that an adequate and effective monitoring system is the basis for the successful implementation of greenhouse gas reduction. Monitoring will make it possible to assess how effective certain actions to reduce greenhouse gases are, to find a more rational way to achieve goals with minimal costs, which is why analytical data and statistics are indispensable.

The main difference may be the overly ambitious goals set by the EU and, in particular, France. Financing climate, energy, and other transitions, investing in clean energy, and maintaining adequate pricing are, in our view, mutually exclusive phenomena.

No doubt, following the example of the European Union and France, regulations will be adopted in Russia in the coming years that will regulate carbon markets. The carbon market is a huge commercial potential that the European Union receives for providing businesses with reputational assets ("goodwill") and small breaks, while at the same time realizing one of its global goals – reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

The Russian Federation really needs its own carbon market. However, when concluding international agreements on the carbon market (as a result of the CoP29 agreements), it is important to avoid imposing an unfriendly market order.