ST. PETERSBURG, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Russia's Arkhangelsk region reached carbon neutrality in 2025, with greenhouse gas emissions from human activities fully offset by natural absorption, local authorities said Thursday.

Boats drive around the Sevmash factory in the northern city of Arkhangelsk on July 2, 2009. (File photo: AFP)

The milestone was made possible primarily by large-scale forest restoration efforts, Igor Muraev, deputy chairman of the regional government, was quoted by TASS news agency as saying.

"In 2025, reforestation was carried out on 78,200 hectares, equivalent to 105 percent of the area of forests logged or lost to natural disasters," Muraev said.

In addition to reforestation, the region has begun replacing coal and fuel oil with biomass pellets to cut fossil fuel use, a major contributor to carbon emissions.

The efforts align with Russia's goal to achieve nationwide carbon neutrality by 2060, she added.