Discussion with EU about quality of carbon is on political level; worth discussing at WTO level if discrimination continues - VEB
DUBAI. Dec 11 (Interfax) - The matter of crediting carbon units produced in Russia and other BRICS countries in the European system of transboundary carbon regulation flows into the political plane, VEB.RF First Deputy Chairman Alexei Miroshnichenko said during a Russian event at the UN COP28 Climate Change Conference.
"The next question that needs to be discussed as part of the political association BRICS is how much we are ready to defend our unit, how ready we are, maybe even to issue an ultimatum to the European Union in terms of the fact that our units are no worse than their units. Then, that if an enterprise bought our CU, Brix, verified in accordance with a scientifically proven methodology, then this unit should be counted toward the enterprise when trading with EU countries. Any attempt to say 'green' units are only in EU countries, and yours are all units, that they are 'red' and 'brown', and that 'a real unit may only cost 100 euros per tonne, and yours are all $10 or less', I think that this very political association should answer: 'It is already politics, science is over'," Miroshnichenko said.
According to Miroshnichenko, if such abuse of the climate agenda continues, it makes sense to move the discussion to the level of the World Trade Organization. "You have moved away from science, you are trying to use and abuse science for the sake of politics. [...] Or recognize [the carbon units of the BRICS countries], or agree that you are using non-competitive instruments in restraint of international trade. "Then the discussion should move somewhere around the WTO and those of our political platforms that discuss competitive trade mechanisms, and not in scientific circles that discuss how to protect our planet from overheating and reduce the rate of global warming'," he said.
Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov earlier in an interview with Interfax said that the climate agenda was increasingly penetrating trade relations and was becoming a way to protect markets from competition.
"If it was really about the climate, then they would say, 'OK, guys, verify your carbon credits to international standards, we'll credit you with them towards the carbon footprint of your products.' They say, 'No, no, we do not care what you have there, we will calculate your carbon footprint ourselves, and you, please, compensate for it in our European system.' That is, 'do not spend $10 on CO2 capture, but rather bring us $100 so that our products have remained competitive'," the minister said.