Search

Forest carbon sinks in Russia are an integral part of the national "Low-carbon development strategy". However, the influence of natural disasters and various land use policies in economic regions (ERs) raises the issue of forest carbon sink efficiency (FCSE). This study adopted a DEA-SBM model that considers undesirable outputs to measure FCSE, and the Malmquist index (MI) approach to analyze total factor productivity (TFP) of forest carbon sinks, using panel data from 2009 to 2021. The results show that the average FCSE was 0.788, with an improvement rate of 21.2%. Scale efficiency is the main factor constraining FCSE in Russia. In twelve ERs, forest carbon sinks are efficient only in the Kaliningrad and West Siberian ERs. In general, forest carbon sinks in Russia are inefficient mainly due to forest fires and other natural disturbances (82.33%); excessive logging activities (38.64%); and lack of carbon absorption capacity (31.70%). The average score of their TFP is 0.970, indicating a decline of 3% over the study period. This is primarily attributed to the decline of 1.6% in technological change. The productivity of forest carbon sinks remained static only in the Kaliningrad ER, while other economic regions performed deterioration trends. Therefore, Russia should enhance the efficiency of forest carbon sinks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon markets, particularly emission trading schemes (ETS) and carbon offset projects, are significant mechanisms in climate change mitigation. However, there are still a number of unresolved issues regarding their attractiveness and efficient functioning. Blockchain, as the core of "3D's concept" (including decentralization, decarbonization and digitalization), could be considered as a candidate solution for carbon markets' improvement. A systematic literature review was conducted to identify the role of blockchain in ETS and carbon offset projects, its key features, implementation challenges and proposed applications, by analyzing and discussing the content of relevant studies, and grouping the results into domains. This study's findings show that blockchain has great potential to be adopted in carbon markets. However, there is no data on blockchain use cases in energy efficiency, chemical processes and industrial manufacturing, waste disposal, and agriculture. Blockchain-based household and transportation carbon offset projects are linked to renewables through energy trading. Renewables and forestry are the most appropriate domains for blockchain adoption, considering various criteria of quality for carbon offset projects. Blockchain is currently immature in carbon markets because of its own drawbacks and challenges. This study also highlights research gaps and offers research directions to inspire researchers for conducting related investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]