Abstract
This chapter investigates the climate-security nexus in Russian political discourse and practices. It is based on an analysis of key policy documents, statements of official representatives of Russia, and data from social polls in the domain of climate change, environment, and security. The analysis covers the time period from 2007 to 2020 and shows that, even though climate change is gaining more room in the Russian national agenda, it is still not considered as a meaningful threat to national, human, and ecological security. The national climate policy is far from one that could effectively manage multiple climate-related risks. Further, the significance of fossil fuels to the economy results in prioritisation of adaptation-focused climate policies over mitigation ones. The analysis shows that climate change is often perceived as an opportunity rather than a threat by officials, state companies, and the general public. An example of this is in the warming Arctic and the corresponding political discourse on potential benefits of growing transport and resource accessibility in the region. However, in recent years, the dominant feature of Russian climate policy discourse – scepticism about the anthropogenic nature of climate change – is changing towards a more science-based policy agenda. Moreover, the analysis shows that over the last few years new dimensions of climate-security discourse have arisen, which emphasise the indirect (rather than direct) risks related to low-carbon transition outside Russia and climate-induced military risks, particularly in the Arctic. These processes might be able to boost climate policies as well as the overall awareness of climate change as a threat to people, ecosystems, and the economy in Russia.
Ilya Stepanov, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia; e-mail: iastepanov@hse.ru; ilstepanov0@gmail.com.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
The heating season is a period that covers the whole of Winter and parts of Spring and Autumn. At this time, premises are heated with the help of central heating pipes.
- 2.
“Last forest fire extinguished in the Irkutsk region”; at: https://rg.ru/2019/09/11/reg-sibfo/v-irkutskoj-oblasti-potushili-poslednij-lesnoj-pozhar.html (12 July 2022); “Deep August 2013: Chronicle of flooding in the Khabarovsk Territory from ‘A’ to ‘Z’”; at: https://amurmedia.ru/news/837376/ (15 June 2022).
- 3.
“Extreme heat rises due to summer heat officially recognized”; at: https://www.vedomosti.ru/opinion/articles/2010/10/27/zharkij_martirolog (13 May 2022).
- 4.
Author’s translation.
- 5.
Ibid.
- 6.
Putin: Russia is pleased with climate change in the Arctic; at: https://regnum.ru/news/polit/2256708.html.
- 7.
The trend for sustainable development opens up new opportunities for Russian business; at: https://www.moibiz.biz/novosti/news/trend-na-ustoychivoe-razvitie-otkryvaet-novye-vozmozhnosti-dlya-rossiyskogo-biznesa (13 May 2022); Expert: climate change in the Arctic opens up opportunities for offshore exploration; at: https://tass.ru/ekonomika/9640915 (15 June 2022).
- 8.
Big Press Conference of Vladimir Putin; at: http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/62366 (12 July 2022).
- 9.
Russian Public Opinion Research Center: about 40% of Russians surveyed called global warming a far-fetched problem; at: https://tass.ru/obschestvo/7846251 (12 July 2022).
- 10.
Most Russians have experienced climate change, but do not want to know anything about its consequences; at: https://plus-one.ru/news/2020/12/24/bolshinstvo-rossiyan-oshchutili-izmeneniya-klimata-no-nichego-ne-hotyat-znat-o-ego-posledstviyah (13 May 2022).
- 11.
Author’s translation.
- 12.
Russia agreed to fight global warming, although Putin does not believe in it. What made her? at: https://www.bbc.com/russian/features-49953830 (12 July 2022).
- 13.
The Church of Global Warming; at: https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2019/11/30/82935-tserkov-globalnogo-potepleniya (15 June 2022).
- 14.
The Girl and the Myth; at: https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/4205270 (12 July 2022).
- 15.
Greta Thunberg is a Swedish environmental activist who is known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action for climate change mitigation.
- 16.
Russia’a Position at the Seventy-fifth Session of the UN General Assembly; at: https://www.mid.ru/foreign_policy/news/-/asset_publisher/cKNonkJE02Bw/content/id/4252717?p_p_id=101_INSTANCE_cKNonkJE02Bw&_101_INSTANCE_cKNonkJE02Bw_languageId=en_GB (12 July 2022).
- 17.
Governmental Decree no. 843 (from October 28, 2009) “On measures to implement Article 6 of the Kyoto Protocol of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change” came into force and the Russian state-owned bank Sberbank was made responsible for managing projects in Russia, at: https://base.garant.ru/12170482/ (15 June 2022).
- 18.
Ibid.
- 19.
Russia announced its first nationally-determined contribution to the implementation of the Paris Agreement; at: https://economy.gov.ru/material/news/rossiya_soobshchila_o_svoem_pervom_opredelyaemom_na_nacionalnom_urovne_vklade_v_realizaciyu_parizhskogo_soglasheniya.html (12 July 2022).
- 20.
Ibid.
- 21.
Rosstat estimated the poverty level in the country at 13.1%; at: https://www.interfax.ru/russia/782984 (15 June 2022).
- 22.
A strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions should be adopted in the Russian Federation by the end of 2020; at: https://tass.ru/obschestvo/6936440 (12 July 2022).
- 23.
From Household Garbage to Abandoned Buildings and Ships: Large-scale Garbage Collection is taking place in the Arctic; at: https://tass.ru/v-strane/4478177 (15 June 2022).
- 24.
Putin connected military forces to extinguish fires in Siberia; at: https://ria.ru/20190731/1557046227.html (15 June 2022).
- 25.
A list of ministries, state agencies and executive bodies involved in implementation of the Adaptation Plan includes: Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Emergency Situations, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Health, Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Construction Industry, Housing and Utilities Sector of the Russian Federation?, Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Finance, Bank of Russia, Federal Agency of Water Resources, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing, Ministry of Enlightenment, Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring of Russia, Federal Agency for Fisheries, Russian Academy of Science, Russian Federal State Statistics Service, Federal Biomedical Agency, supreme executive bodies of state power of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and federal executive bodies and organisations.
- 26.
Under the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), a carbon price will be put on imports. The main goal is to encourage foreign companies to reduce industrial CO2 emissions. It will be phased in gradually and applied to a selected number of goods at high risk of carbon leakage, i.e,. iron and steel, cement, fertiliser, aluminium and electricity generation.
- 27.
The shale revolution in the US, a sharp decline in costs for renewable energy, the rapid development of energy storage and smart grid technologies, the expansion of the liquified natural gas market, the strengthening of carbon pricing policies in developed and developing countries, etc.
- 28.
Other areas include structural diversification, digital transformation of the economy, and spatial optimisation of energy infrastructure.
- 29.
The red lines of the EU Green Deal. The European Commission has introduced a mechanism for collecting a cross-border carbon tax; at: https://www.rbc.ru/newspaper/2021/07/15/60eee84c9a7947437acf4b2a (12 July 2022); CBAM: how much will Russia pay?; at: https://trends.rbc.ru/trends/green/60e2cbb79a79471e5f514818 (12 July 2022); Author’s translation.
- 30.
Chubais has figured out how to protect Russian companies from the EU carbon tax; at: https://www.vedomosti.ru/economics/articles/2020/12/13/850779-chubais-pridumal (12 July 2022).
- 31.
“Carbon price” as an instrument of economic and environmental policy; at: http://www.global-climate-change.ru/index.php/en/component/content/article/108-of-news-cat/4974-nalog (12 July 2022).
- 32.
For the first time, a legislative system for managing CO2 emissions has been created in Russia; at: https://www.economy.gov.ru/material/news/v_rossii_vpervye_sozdana_zakonodatelnaya_sistema_upravleniya_vybrosami_so2.html (13 May 2022).
- 33.
G20, BRICS (association including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), APEC (forum of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation), Arctic Council and other forums.
References
Anisimov, Oleg; Orttung, Robert, 2019: “Climate Change in Northern Russia through the Prism of Public Perception”, in: Ambio, 48,6: 661–71.
Bashmakov, Igor A., 2020: “Russian Low Carbon Development Strategy”, in: Voprosy ekonomiki, 7: 51–74.
BBC News, 2011: “UN: Climate Change Threatens Peace and Security”; at: https://www.bbc.com/russian/international/2011/07/110721_climate_security_implications.
Boklan, Daria S. et al., 2021: “Russian Policy in the Arctic: International Aspects”, XXII April International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development, Moscow, Russia, 13–30 April.
Doloisio, Natalia; Vanderlinden, Jean-Paul, 2020: “The Perception of Permafrost Thaw in the Sakha Republic (Russia): Narratives, Culture and Risk in the Face of Climate Change”, in: Polar Science, 26,100589.
Government of the Russian Federation, n. d.: “Nationally Determined Contribution of the Russian Federation”: 21; at: https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/NDC/2022-06/NDC_RF_ru.pdf.
Government of the Russian Federation, 2009: “Energy Strategy of Russian Federation for the Period until 2030”; at: https://centerpolit.org/national-security/energeticheskaya-strategiya-rossii-na-period-do-2030-goda/.
Government of the Russian Federation, 2020: “National Climate Change Adaptation Plan until 2022”; at: http://government.ru/docs/38739/.
Hardt, Judith Nora, 2018: Environmental Security in the Anthropocene: Assessing Theory and Practice (London: Taylor and Francis).
Harrington, Cameron; Shearing, Clifford, 2017: Security in the Anthropocene: Reflections on Safety and Care (Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag).
KoKorin, Alexey; Korppoo, Anna, 2014: “Russia’s Greenhouse Gas Target 2020”.
Makarov, Igor A., 2016: “Russia’s Participation in International Environmental Cooperation”, in: Strategic Analysis, 40,6: 536–46.
Makarov, Igor A.; Stepanov, Ilya A., 2016: “The Environmental Factor of Economic Development in the Russian Arctic”, in: Problems of Economic Transition, 58,10: 847–63.
Makarov, Igor A.; Stepanov, Ilya A., 2017: “Carbon Regulation: Options and Challenges for Russia”, in: Moscow University Economics Bulletin, 6: 3–22.
Makarov, Igor; Chen, Henry; Paltsev, Sergey, 2020: “Impacts of Climate Change Policies Worldwide on the Russian Economy”, in: Climate Policy, 20,10: 1242–56.
Manley, David; Cust, James Frederick; Cecchinato, Giorgia, 2017: “Stranded Nations? The Climate Policy Implications for Fossil Fuel-Rich Developing Countries” (Oxford, UK: OxCarre).
Mitrova, Tatiana; Melnikov, Yuriy, 2019: “Energy Transition in Russia”, in: Energy Transitions, 3,1: 73–80.
Nebenzia, Vassily 2020: “Statement by Vassily Nebenzia, Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN, at the VTC of UNSC Members ‘Climate and Security’”; at: https://russiaun.ru/en/news/climate_240720.
Poberezhskaya, Marianna, 2018: “Blogging About Climate Change in Russia: Activism, Scepticism and Conspiracies”, in: Environmental Communication, 12,7: 942–55.
Porfiriev, Boris N., 2019: “The Low-Carbon Development Paradigm and Climate Change Risk Reduction Strategy for the Economy”, in: Studies on Russian Economic Development, 30,2: 111–18.
Porfiriev, Boris N. et al., 2017: “Consequences of Climate Change for Economic Growth and Development of Certain Sectors of the Russian Arctic Economy”, in: Economy and Management of the National Economy of the Arctic Zone, 4,28: 4–17.
President of the Russian Federation, 2009: “National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation”; at: http://kremlin.ru/supplement/424.
President of the Russian Federation, 2015: “National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation”; at: http://kremlin.ru/acts/news/51129.
President of the Russian Federation, 2016: “Russian Foreign Policy Concept”; at: http://kremlin.ru/acts/bank/41451/page/4.
President of the Russian Federation, 2016a: “Fundamentals of State Policy in the Field of Civil Defense”; at: http://kremlin.ru/acts/bank/41544.
President of the Russian Federation, 2017: “Russian Environmental Security Strategy”; at: http://kremlin.ru/acts/bank/41879
President of the Russian Federation, 2017a: “Russian Economic Security Strategy”, at: http://kremlin.ru/acts/bank/41921.
President of the Russian Federation, 2019: “Energy Security Doctrine”; at: http://kremlin.ru/acts/bank/44252.
President of the Russian Federation, 2020: “Food Security Doctrine”; at: http://kremlin.ru/acts/bank/45106.
RIA News, 2019: “Russia Objected to Climate Change Discussion at the Un Security Control”; at: https://ria.ru/20190125/1549941836.html
RIA News, 2019a: “Arctic Doctrine” of the United States: The Northern Sea Route Will Be Blocked”; at: https://ria.ru/20191018/1559911797.html.
Roshydromet, 2014: “The Second Assessment Report of Roshydromet on Climate Change and Its Consequences on the Territory of the Russian Federation”.
Roshydromet, 2017: “Report on Climate Risks at the Territories of Russian Federation”.
Sharmina, Maria, Anderson, Kevin; Bows-Larkin, Alice, 2013: “Climate Change Regional Review: Russia”; in: WIREs Climate Change, 4,5: 373–96.
Shvidenko, A. Z.; Schepaschenko, D. G., 2013: “Climate Change and Wildfires in Russia”, in: Contemporary Problems of Ecology, 6,7: 683–92.
Sukhankin, Sergey, 2020: “Russia Steps up Efforts to Dominate Arctic Region”, in: Eurasia Daily Monitor, 17,25. https://jamestown.org/program/russia-steps-up-efforts-to-dominate-arctic-region/
Svetlov, N. M.; Siptits, S. O.; Romanenko, I. A.; Evdokimova, N. E., 2019: “The Effect of Climate Change on the Location of Branches of Agriculture in Russia”, in: Studies on Russian Economic Development, 30,4: 406–18.
TASS, 2018: “Russia Opposed the Discussion of the Problem of Climate Change in the UN Security Council”; at: https://tass.ru/politika/5366241.
Tynkkynen, Veli-Pekka; Tynkkynen, Nina, 2018: “Climate Denial Revisited: (Re)Contextualising Russian Public Discourse on Climate Change During Putin 2.0”, in: Europe-Asia Studies, 70,7: 1103–20.
Acknowledgments
The chapter was prepared within the framework of the HSE University Basic Research Programme and funded by the Russian Academic Excellence Project “5-100”. Support from the Individual Research Programme of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs at the National Research University Higher School of Economics is gratefully acknowledged.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Stepanov, I. (2023). Climate Change in Security Perceptions and Practices in Russia. In: Hardt, J.N., Harrington, C., von Lucke, F., Estève, A., Simpson, N.P. (eds) Climate Security in the Anthropocene. The Anthropocene: Politik—Economics—Society—Science, vol 33. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26014-8_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26014-8_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-26016-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-26014-8
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)