RUSSIALINK: “As Caucasian Glaciers Melt, Locals Face the Future With Stoicism” – Moscow Times
Caucasian glaciers have lost a quarter of their surface area to climate change since the millennium […]
» Read moreTag: Environment
RUSSIALINK: “Russia’s Climate Epiphany May Be Greenwashing” – Moscow Times
Experts fear the country cares more about carbon levies than the environmental crisis […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Arctic Could See More Rain Than Snow By 2060 as Region Warms – Study” – Moscow Times
The Arctic region could see a faster-than-predicted shift from snow to rain as its main form of precipitation if global carbon emissions are not drastically cut, … scientists have claimed [,,,]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Russia Losing 1-3 Meters of Arctic Shoreline to Climate Change Annually – Scientists” – Moscow Times
Russia is losing increasing amounts of its Arctic coast each year as climate change accelerates natural erosion processes […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Glasgow Deals Prompt Russia Rethink on Coal Plans, Carbon Tax” – Bloomberg/ Evgenia Pismennaya, Yuliya Fedorinova
“Russia will look to cut its ambitious goals for boosting coal production … and consider imposing a carbon tax or other regulation in the wake of … the COP26 summit … according to two officials familiar with the plans. But Russia won’t join the global agreement to reduce methane emissions, [they] said, speaking on condition of anonymity …. [Russia] is […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “What Did Russia Achieve at COP26?” – Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Nov. 16, 2021) Now that the United Nations’ COP26 climate summit has ended, opinions are split over whether world leaders made the commitments needed to keep global warming from passing a catastrophic threshold. Here’s a look at things Russia did — and did not do — at the landmark summit in Glasgow: Deforestation pledge Russia, […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia comes in from cold on climate, launches forest plan” – AP
Russia Faces $2T in Stranded Hydrocarbon Assets in Net Zero World
Russia could be left with almost $2 trillion in worthless hydrocarbon assets if major economies hit their net zero targets over the coming decades […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Kremlin Pushes Back on Biden’s Climate Criticism” – Moscow Times
Russia, as well as fellow major polluters China and India, did not sign the U.S. and EU-led Global Methane Pledge to cut methane emissions 30% by 2030 …. [but] the world’s fourth-largest greenhouse gas emitter[] did join over 100 countries … promising to end deforestation by 2030 […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “How Is Climate Change Impacting Russia?” – Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Nov. 2, 2021) As world leaders gather in Glasgow for the COP26 climate summit in hopes of agreeing on a strategy to avoid catastrophic global warming, Russia stands to face significant changes from climate change in the coming decades. Here’s a look at some of the ways Russia, which is warming 2.5 times faster than […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Rosneft announces energy transition strategy as climate conference approaches” – bne Intellinews
“Oil giant Rosneft announced the creation of a plan to transition to green energy, but also warned that fossil fuels would never fully be replaced.” “Russian state oil major Rosneft is developing a new strategy centred on the transition to renewable energy resources. … [according to] CEO Igor Sechin …. However, … [he] stress[ed] that oil and gas would continue […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Russia’s Change in Tone on Climate Is Unlikely to Spark Rapid Green Transition” – Moscow Times
The world’s fourth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases is still in the bargaining stage of decarbonization […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Putin Claims Russia Is Decarbonizing Faster Than G7 Countries” – Moscow Times
Russia’s carbon emissions have been rising in recent decades and are projected to do so for multiple years [. ..]
» Read moreWhat can we expect from Russia at COP26?
We ask experts whether the Kremlin’s latest moves on climate, including its 2060 net-zero target, heralds genuine change or more greenwash […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Russia Named World’s 3rd-Highest Carbon Emitter in History” – Moscow Times
According to data from the Union of Concerned Scientists, Russia ranks fourth in the world for annual carbon emissions. But if overall emissions since the pre-Industrial period are taken into account, Russia [reportedly] moves to third […]
» Read moreNicola Avery: Re: “Our occasional blog about climate science in/around Russia” [“More Than Bears: News From Climate Scientists Around Russia”]
Subject: Our occasional blog about climate science in/around Russia Date: Wed, 08 Sep 2021 From: Nicola Avery <nicolaavery@protonmail.com> We started a climate science blog a year or so ago, profiling scientists, mostly in Russia. We are developing the blog on a voluntary basis so only posting occasionally which is managed by Alina Bychkova at Nottingham Trent University, cc’d. We have […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Russia’s 2020 Average Temperatures Broke All Records – Ministry” – Moscow Times
The spike represents the first time temperatures have been over 3 C higher than the norm since measurements began in 1936 […]
» Read moreRussia Is Burning. Here’s What You Need To Know.
[Reportedly] more than 170,000 square kilometers have burned across Russia this year … the worst in a decade, and possibly ever … an area about the size of the U.S. state of Florida […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Russia to Rely on Vast Forests to Meet Climate Goals – Reports” – Moscow Times
Russia plans to rely on … forests and swamps to absorb enough greenhouse gases to meet … climate goals while continuing to increase … carbon emissions […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Russia’s 2021 Wildfires Now Largest in Recorded History” – Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Aug. 17, 2021) Russia’s 2021 wildfires are already the largest in the history of satellite observations, burning across 17.08 million hectares of land, the Greenpeace Russia environmental group has said. The new record beats the previous record set in 2012, when fires burned 17 million hectares of land, and comes with weeks left to go […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Putin Alarmed Over ‘Unprecedented’ Natural Disasters in Russia” – Moscow Times
Putin … said the scale of natural disasters that have hit Russia this year is “absolutely unprecedented” as local officials ask for Moscow’s help to tackle fires and floods […]
» Read moreThe Week In Russia: The Dangerous Summer
As September elections approach, COVID-19 takes a mounting toll and wildfires burn across huge swaths of the country …. The Kremlin crackdown on dissenters, civil society, and independent media continues […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “UN’s Bombshell Climate Change Report Forecasts Fire and Floods for Russia” – Moscow Times
Russia can expect to see intensifying wildfires, floods and other extreme weather events in the coming decades as the global climate crisis deepens a decade sooner than projected […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Rapid Arctic Warming Is Accelerating Permafrost Collapse in Siberia, New Report Warns” – Moscow Times
The Arctic is warming roughly three times faster than the planet as a whole, scientists warned …. Permafrost currently covers about 65% of Russian territory, but is melting fast […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “U.S. and Russia pledge to ‘move together’ against climate change” – Financial Times
“First positive sign of potential easing of tensions since last month’s summit” “Russia, … fourth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has signed up to the Paris climate agreement to limit emissions. Rapidly rising temperatures in Siberia … flooding and forest fires have made climate … increasingly important …. Putin, who four years ago blamed rising global temperatures on volcanoes and ‘cosmic […]
» Read more‘Birthplace of Ice’ in Russia’s Arctic Sees Record-Breaking Start to Melting Season
… In 2020 the Laptev Sea stayed ice-free until November for the first time in documented history. The sea … plays a crucial role in generating ice coverage for the entire Arctic […]
» Read more‘Green Shift’ Occurring across Russian Political Spectrum, Shaburov Says
Most parties … participating in the upcoming Duma and regional legislative assembly elections are now including environmentalists in their list of candidates […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Russian Military Seeks to Outmuscle U.S. in Arctic” – Wall Street Journal
“For Moscow it is the last geopolitical battleground where it holds the advantage over Washington and Beijing” “… [N]ew and refurbished bases [are] meant to service the Kremlin’s ambitions in the resource-rich Arctic. … combined to form a new military district … under … the Northern Fleet, Russia’s foremost Arctic naval force[] … [with fleet] headquarters … on the Kola […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Arctic-Superpower Jostling Heats Up as Russia Takes on Key Role” – Bloomberg
“Russia’s Sergei Lavrov claimed this week that ‘this is our land and our waters’ as NATO allies boost military activity” “… Russian and U.S. diplomats … [signal] rising tensions between [powers] racing to seize Arctic resources …. Arctic Council [participants] weren’t due to discuss security. But … Russia’s … Sergei Lavrov declared … the Arctic ‘is our land and our […]
» Read moreThe Prospects for U.S.-Russia Climate Engagement Under Moscow’s Chairing of the Arctic Council
… [T]he rotating chairmanship of the Arctic Council … intergovernmental forum … will pass from Iceland to Russia for a two-year term. … [as] the organization grapples with multiple challenges and Russia-West relations have hit another historic low […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Harvesting of whales, dolphins to be banned in Russia – Mishustin” – Interfax
MOSCOW. May 13 (Interfax) – The Russian government is planning to ban the harvesting of whales and dolphins for industrial and coastal fishing purposes, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said. “We are planning additional regulations, this time for individual and coastal fishing purposes. First of all, this will apply to whales and dolphins. The new bill will ban their harvesting. […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Russia’s Far North Could Be Arable in 20-30 Years As Permafrost Melts – Minister” – Moscow Times
… 60-65% of Russia’s territory is covered in permafrost …. Russia’s Arctic [is] melting 2.5 times faster than the rest of the world […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Biden invites Putin, Xi to his first major climate talks” – bne Intellinews
“… Biden … has invited … Putin … and Xi Jinping … to … virtual climate talks. … [scheduled for] 22-23 April. … Some 40 invitations [were sent] to … leaders of … major countries, as well as [some at-risk, low-lying] countries …. If Putin or Xi attend, Biden will have to walk a fine line diplomatically, given claims of […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Russia Sees Record High Average Temperatures in 2020: Institute” – Moscow Times
Economists have predicted that Russia stands to reap benefits from hotter temperatures, primarily through expanded navigation and exploration in the Arctic […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Where Climate Scientists See Danger, Russia Sees an Opportunity” – Bloomberg
“Rising temperatures in the Arctic are a warning sign for the planet. The melting ice has an economic upside for Russia.” “Russia … fourth-biggest [greenhouse gas] emitter … [also faces Arctic] temperatures … warming more than twice [that of global rates] …. [With] more than a fifth of the planet’s forests, Russia has [had] two consecutive years of record-breaking wildfires […]
» Read moreRussian Company Pays Largest Legal Award In History — Almost $2 Billion — For Devastating Arctic Fuel Spill
… [T]he Krasnoyarsk City Court of Arbitration ruled that almost all of the sum, the largest legal award in Russian history, must go to the federal treasury […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Melting Arctic Forces Polar Bears to Adapt to Land-Based Diet – Russian Scientists” – Moscow Times
Polar bears have been forced south by rising temperatures and melting ice cover, limiting their ability to hunt seals and walruses and increasing encounters with human settlements […]
» Read moreFrom Russia with Questions
… [Our NASA Earth Observatory] team noticed a … message with a peculiar and beautiful image from Russia near 66 degrees north latitude. It turned into a scientific detective story and an unresolved case […]
» Read moreLavrov, Kerry Discuss Cooperation On Climate Change In Phone Call
They agreed to cooperate further within the Arctic Council … [and] to establish contacts ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference […]
» Read moreExpert Survey: How Will Climate Change Impact U.S.-Russian Relations?
(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – RM Staff – Jan. 28, 2021) As the effects of climate change grow more intense each year, attention is shifting to the inevitable geopolitical impacts of a warming planet. In 2020, Russia experienced its warmest winter on record, while the summer saw forest fires rip through Siberia like never before. At the same time, a […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Blame Climate Change for Historically Warm Fall in Russia’s Biggest Cities, Experts Say” – Moscow Times
… Russia’s two largest cities experienced the warmest autumn temperatures of their recorded histories in 2020 …. And it’s only the beginning, experts say […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Along Russia’s ‘Road of Bones,’ Relics of Suffering and Despair” – New York Times/ Andrew Higgins
“The Kolyma Highway in the Russian Far East once delivered tens of thousands of prisoners to the work camps of Stalin’s gulag. The ruins of that cruel era are still visible today.” “… [P]risoners, hacking … through insect-infested summer swamps and winter ice fields, brought the road … [which] then brought yet more prisoners … a torrent of slave labor […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Warming shrinks Arctic Ocean ice to 2nd lowest on record” – AP
“… The extent of ice-covered ocean at the North Pole and extending further south to Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Russia reached its summertime low of 1.4 million square miles … last week before starting to grow again. Arctic sea ice reaches its low point in September and its high in March after the winter. This year’s melt is second only […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Climate Change in Russia and the Weaponization of Wheat” – The Center for Climate and Security/ Leah Emanuel
“As temperatures in the Russian Arctic rapidly increase and permafrost continues to melt, Russian land feasible for wheat production is beginning to grow. … While wheat makes up only 2.3% of Russia’s total exports, this small percentage constitutes a major portion of the global wheat export market. … Relying on wheat production in these newly farmable lands, however, will not […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Siberia’s ‘gateway to the underworld’ grows as record heat wave thaws permafrost” – Science Magazine/ Richard Stone
“… Known to locals as the ‘gateway to the underworld,’ Batagay is … [earth’s] largest thaw slump …. Once just a gully … the scar has expanded … as … permafrost thaws and meltwater carries off … sediment. Now more than 900 meters wide, it epitomizes the vulnerability of permafrost in the Arctic …. Outbursts of pent-up methane gas in […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “An oil spill in Russia’s Arctic exposes risks for Moscow’s Far North plans” – Washington Post/ Isabelle Khurshudyan, Andrew Freedman
“Thawing permafrost in the rapidly warming region leaves Moscow’s ambitious Arctic expansion proposals literally on shaky ground.” “… [S]urg[ing] … climate change in interior Russia – more than three times the global average – is throwing new risks in the way of … Putin’s Far North agenda, among his top domestic initiatives. A key danger is … more infrastructure atop […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Melting Arctic Permafrost Threatens Russian Energy Firms’ Bottom Line – Morgan Stanley” – Moscow Times
Rapidly melting Arctic permafrost poses the greatest threat to major Russian energy producers’ infrastructure and financial indicators, according to a new Morgan Stanley report […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s Putin sets new 2030 goals as National Projects scaled back” – bne Intellinews
“… Putin has signed a ‘July Decree’ … outlin[ing] … national development goals up to 2030 …. risk[ing] … [failure to] fulfill[] … [his] previous economic platform due to the … COVID-19[] crisis. … [with] deadlines for [the] National Projects spending spree … being pushed from 2024 to 2030. [The new platform] outline[s] five development goals: 1) maintaining the population, […]
» Read moreSiberia’s ‘Poles Of Cold’ Are Obliterating Heat Records, And Alarming Climate Scientists
.. The rapid pace of warming has stunned climate scientists, despite years of gradually rising temperatures. […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “The Far-Reaching Consequences of Siberia’s Climate-Change-Driven Wildfires” – Smithsonian Magazine/ Theresa Machemer
“Smoke from the blazes is now reaching the West Coast of the United States.” “… [S]moke from the fires … spans over 1,000 miles … causing hazy skies [in] the northwestern United States …. Permafrost is rich in organic material that froze before it could completely decompose. Melting permafrost releases greenhouse gases on top of the pollution released by the […]
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