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Belarusian government comes up with projects to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 48 million tons

The Belarusian government has prepared 27 projects designed to cut the country’s carbon dioxide emissions by 48 million tons and sell the emission reduction credits for an estimated EUR480 million in the international market, Natallya Dankova, a senior official at the environmental protection ministry, told reporters in Minsk on Thursday.

One credit, which is equal to one ton of carbon dioxide, may be sold for EUR8 to EUR10, Ms. Dankova said.

The official said that most of the projects were authored by the energy ministry and state petrochemical conglomerate Belnaftakhim. The forestry and transport ministries also took part in the work, she noted.

The projects could be carried out within the framework of the Joint Implementation mechanism of the Kyoto Treaty and voluntary cap-and-trade schemes, but a Kyoto Protocol amendment that would give Belarus access to the former mechanism has not been ratified so far, the official said. //BelaPAN