Chairman of the Russia-Brazil Business Council Andrey Guryev invites Brazilian counterparts to set up working group on carbon neutrality and green products

"Russia and Brazil account for 32% of global forests. This means that Russia and Brazil are de facto the 'lungs' of modern industrial civilisation as well as global leaders in carbon sequestration.

"It would make sense to form a working group comprised of leading scientists from Russia and Brazil, as well as regulatory organisations, to develop and validate a methodology to track carbon sequestration in Russian and Brazilian forests. The goal would be to create a mechanism for monetising carbon sequestration on a global scale.

"This could lead to the creation of a joint carbon trading platform with the goal of providing carbon credits to other carbon-emitting countries. The New Development Bank could serve as the basis for the initiative.

"I suggest that Russia and Brazil work together on the scientific and business fronts to show that they have a negative carbon footprint despite their mature industries. Given the possibility of carbon regulation in the EU, the US and later other nations around the world, this would give us an additional competitive advantage," said Mr Guryev, Deputy Chairman for Russia to the Intergovernmental Russian–Brazilian Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation.

Mr Guryev stated that, in the context of agriculture – the driving force behind Russia and Brazil's expanding trade – it is critical to jointly develop and apply technologies for soil carbon sequestration. Furthermore, Brazil was invited to join the Green Club, a newly formed group of countries that use eco-efficient fertilizers to grow crops that are free of dangerous substances. The ability to produce food using eco-efficient and potentially carbon-neutral fertilizers from Russia will create a unique green platform for interaction with Brazilian agribusiness. The green platform will enable the responsible production of agrochemicals, agricultural products and food based on sustainability principles as well as the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.

The Brazilian part of the Business Council supported the recommendations, which are to be submitted to the President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, on Wednesday, 16 February, during his meeting with representatives of Russian business.