JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s Richest Man Owns More Melting Arctic Than Anyone” – Bloomberg/ Yuliya Fedorinova, Laura Millan Lombrana

September 10, 2020 JRL Russia List Arctic, Environment

Cartoon Sun and Thermometer, adapted from cdc.gov

“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. …”