Russia may hold on to emission rights: expert

By Michael Szabo

COLOGNE, Germany (Reuters) - Russia may decide to hold onto its greenhouse gas emissions rights under the Kyoto Protocol, at least until the details of a successor treaty are clearer, a Russian expert said.

The United Nations' Kyoto Protocol allows industrialized countries to meet greenhouse gas targets by buying emissions rights from each other or from clean energy projects in developing nations.

One controversial scheme under the agreement allows industrialized countries which are comfortably below their emissions targets to sell the difference to other industrialized nations, in a trade which is not necessarily related to any emissions cuts.

According to available data, Russia may have more than 800 million tonnes of carbon dioxide rights, called Assigned Amount Units (AAUs), to sell at the end of Kyoto's first commitment period (2008-2012).

This is more than the estimated AAU demand of every other Kyoto signatory country combined.

Alexander Khanykov, head of Russian clean energy project developers Carbon Project Group, told Reuters on Friday that he believes Russia will save most of its AAUs past 2012 instead of selling them and possibly flooding an already precarious carbon market.

"Russia can sell a huge amount, but nobody will buy this much. The market would be destroyed." he said.

"I think Russia doesn't want to sell until the targets of the second commitment period are clear."