Russian petrochemical company SIBUR will issue carbon credits following the registration of a solar power projects at one of its facilities. The project will be registered with the Global Carbon Council (GCC), an international carbon offsetting programme.

During COP28, the Qatar-registered GCC announced the launch of its own carbon credit registry, which, among other things, will enable Russian businesses to register projects and issue carbon credits, something they are currently prevented from doing by IHS Markit, an international carbon credit market operator.

SIBUR has applied to the GCC to register a solar power project at its POLIEF facility. Once the project is registered, SIBUR will become the first Russian company to issue carbon credits under an international programme since Russia established its own system for emissions trading. SIBUR plans to issue around 18,000 carbon credits.

The solar power plant, which has a capacity of 4.9 MW (10,080 solar panels) and takes up an area of more than 8 hectares, supplies power for the production of Vivilen PET pellets using recycled plastics.

Elena Myakotnikova, Head of SIBUR’s Climate Initiatives and Carbon Regulation, said: “We have been upgrading our production facilities and reducing our environmental footprint thanks to consistent investment over a period of many years. The registration of our carbon credits with the Global Carbon Council will be a milestone in terms of recognition of our climate-related projects, laying the foundation for our carbon credits to be traded on the international market.”