Prerequisites and prospects for the development of carbon pricing in Belarus

Abstract

Aim. To consider the retrospective and existing trends in the development of national regulation of greenhouse gas emissions in Belarus, as well as to analyze the prerequisites and assess the prospects for the formation of carbon pricing mechanisms in this jurisdiction.Objectives. To study the economic, institutional and legal aspects of carbon regulation in Belarus; to identify the main problems and challenges for the state arising in the process of development of such regulation, including carbon pricing mechanisms.Methods. Using the methods of economic and legal analysis and comparison we analyzed various aspects of the functioning of the carbon regulation system in Belarus, which allow us to assess its current state and prospects for its development.Results. Currently, the Republic of Belarus is still among the jurisdictions in which the state has not sufficiently formed institutional and legal conditions for the widespread use of carbon pricing instruments, despite the long history of building a system of regulation of greenhouse gas emissions and the attempt to introduce market mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol, which contributed to the creation of the first elements of national infrastructure for trading in carbon units.Conclusions. Among the potential drivers of the development of the carbon market in Belarus and the subsequent export of its carbon units abroad, there is a further convergence of positions and approaches on the climate agenda and carbon regulation between Belarus and Russia, other jurisdictions in the Eurasian space, within the framework of interstate associations; regarding the preparation for potential negative consequences for the national economy associated with the introduction of the European Union mechanism of cross-border carbon regulation.