Liobov Sulayandziga discusses the issues between indigenous people of the Russian Arctic and extractive industries. She looks at the authentic communities in four Arctic regions: Komi Republic, Sakhalin, Sakha Republic and Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Area She concludes that indigenous opinions are often ignored in areas where resource extraction is prioritized. The communities receive significant opposition from…
Tag: Russia
Human fatprints in the Arctic snow
Anthropogenic pollution of the Arctic atmosphere is of great interest due to the vulnerability of the Arctic ecosystems, as well as the processes of global transport and industries under cold climate conditions. Researchers from Lomonosov State University (Moscow) and Lomonosov Northern (Arctic) Federal University brought the first results on snow pollution in the least explored…
Distilling hard and soft water strategies in climate adaption policies
Despite Russia’s rich freshwater resources, it faces significant water problems, which arise from the country’s adaptation policy with low priority to climate action and less advanced risk management. Safonov from NRU HSE, Moscow outlines the key characteristic of water-related problems in the world’s biggest country. Firstly, Russia is one of the world’s leaders in its…
Bring me sunshine – solar energy pioneering clean energy transition in Russia
Boute and Zhikharev analysed clean energy transition in Russia. They argue that the recent development of the solar energy industry in the country dependent on traditional energy sources is caused by the vested interests of the producers. They looked at the competition between renewable energy sources under the Russian subsidyscheme and found that the manufacturing…
Are Russians eco-conscious?
Kurbanov and Prokhoda recently studied the level of climate change awareness among Russians. They analysed the relationship between ecological knowledge and attitudes towards environment with an ‘ecological behaviour model’. The model considers ecological knowledge as a basis for environmental friendly behaviour and active engagement in public action towards climate change. They explore the links between the awareness…
Is there an Arctic ‘resource curse’? Evidence from the Russian Arctic regions.
Although the development of the Arctic’s natural resources sounds very promising for Russian economics, the expansion of mining brings future risks for the regional well-being, affecting social, physical and economic spheres. Gritsenko and Efimova discuss how the Arctic economics might struggle from being rich in resources. They refer to the idea of ‘resource curse’, a paradox that features…
Fair weather friends across Russian climate zones
Zolotrylin et al assessed the impact of climate change on Russians’ well-being in the face of increasing climate extremes. They measured the average daily temperatures, the characteristics of heat and cold waves, and precipitation over the period 1991–2013 across the country. The results show the significant increase of extreme weather events in Russia in comparison…
It is all about the benefits: the Russian state discusses Arctic energy development.
The Arctic has been providing Russia with large amounts of oil and natural gas over the last century. The environmentally sensitive region will face many natural and social impacts if the hydrocarbon industry continues to work in this way, however, the state’s leadership would not like the business to stop. The recent study of Sidortsov…
Warming up and powering down – vulnerability of the Russian power industry to the climate change
Researchers from the Moscow Power Engineering Institute have assessed the climate-related impacts on the Russian power industry up to 2050. They argue that current climate change deteriorates the efficiency of the power industries on the entire territory of Russia. They used a physical simulation approach to replicate a response of the steam and gas turbines performance to the…
Between two extremes: temperature shocks and violence in Russia
Whilst global climate science states that an increase in frequency of extremely hot or cold days is one of the most challenging impacts of climate change, the impact of extreme temperature on human health remains understudied (IPCC, 2018). Researchers based at IOS, Leibniz and NOVA SBE, Portugal examined social costs of climate change in Russia,…
Russian Climate Research 