JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s Richest Man Owns More Melting Arctic Than Anyone” – Bloomberg/ Yuliya Fedorinova, Laura Millan Lombrana
“Vladimir Potanin’s sprawling Siberian mining operations make him the billionaire most exposed to the permafrost crisis.”
“Vladimir Potanin, one of the [world’s] 50 richest people … stood awkwardly on … Siberian tundra near … remote mining city … Norilsk. … less than a week since a spill[,] … one of Russia’s worst [Arctic] disasters …, caused … by an aging fuel tank owned by his mining operations. … receiv[ing] a verbal lashing from … Putin in front of a national audience. … The Arctic is warming with … rapid speed – more than twice … the global average – … where Nornickel’s mines produce enormous quantities of … minerals essential for rechargeable batteries. … [as well as] nickel and cobalt found in millions of electric vehicles … [and] much of the palladium inside … catalytic converters … reduc[ing] tailpipe emissions. … Potanin [therefore is in] a paradoxical position: … manag[ing] a sprawling mining complex that produces raw materials needed for the transition away from fossil fuels … [while] operations disgorge dangerous pollution into the fragile Arctic. …”
Click here for: “Russia’s Richest Man Owns More Melting Arctic Than Anyone; Vladimir Potanin’s sprawling Siberian mining operations make him the billionaire most exposed to the permafrost crisis.” – Bloomberg/ Yuliya Fedorinova, Laura Millan Lombrana
[permafrost graphic is file image from an earlier year]