A group of Russian activists has managed to break through the Kremlin’s judicial fortress by getting the Constitutional Court to accept for the first time in its history a lawsuit against the power for its inaction against climate change. Although the future of the lawsuit in court is uncertain, environmentalists celebrate having managed to reopen the climate debate in a country absolutely focused on the invasion of Ukraine. “The war is much more important now. Many colleagues and I are against it, but there will come a time when the Russian regime will change and it will be possible to talk about the climate,” Vladimir Sliviak, co-president of the NGO, told EL PAÍS by phone. Ekoszachita! —Ecodefense!in Spanish-.
This environmental organization and 18 other co-authors of the lawsuit denounce that the Kremlin’s environmental strategy will not only fail to comply with the limits of the Paris Agreement, but will increase Russian greenhouse gas emissions in the coming decades. The pact, signed by Moscow and in force since 2016, is a common effort of humanity with the objective that the global temperature of the planet in this century does not rise more than two degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times, preferably not exceeding 1 ,5.
“It is necessary to act now to maintain a suitable climate on the planet,” said Ekoszachita! in a statement when the complaint was admitted by the Constitutional Court this month. Otherwise, future generations will have to live in unbearable conditions and indigenous peoples will literally become extinct, as the resources vital to their survival will be destroyed.”
Russia has experienced a huge series of major natural disasters in recent years. For example, the Orenburg region was devastated in April by the enormous flooding of its rivers, worse than its terrible flood of 1947, and irregularities in the construction and management of its dams. Likewise, it is increasingly common for tens of millions of hectares of its forests to burn, and for them to be cut down to export wood to the plaintiff China. However, the greatest evidence of climate change in Russia is that the permafrost, its frozen soil, is melting irremediably.
The Kremlin committed in the Paris Agreement to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions from the current environment of 2.2 billion tons annually to 968 million in 2030 and 157 million in 2050. However, the strategy presented by the cabinet of ministers to Putin in October 2021, four months before the war, contemplates two scenarios in which emissions multiply more than 10 times their objective.
The document from the Russian authorities foresees an inertial scenario, with hardly any changes compared to now, in which Russia would emit 2,253 million tons in 2030 and 2,521 million in 2050; and the supposed ideal framework, the “objective (intensive) scenario”, in which the country would expel 2,212 million tons into the atmosphere in 2030 and 1,830 million in 2050. That is, a volume much higher than the 157 million agreed upon.
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According to the Kremlin, its idyllic scenario would rely on the absorption of emissions by forests and other mechanisms, which would reduce its net balance of emissions to 630 million tons per year by mid-century. An overly optimistic framework if one takes into account that in the inertial scenario the net balance would change almost nothing and would remain at 1,986 million tons.
“The key goal of the objective (intensive) scenario is to ensure global competitiveness and the sustainability of Russia’s economic growth in the context of the global energy transition,” emphasized the document sealed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin at the end of 2021. Months later, Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine and his country was subjected to a vast list of sanctions to try to stop his war machine. With an economy focused absolutely on war – it accounts for more than a third of the budget – the Government announced in 2023 that it would once again review its environmental objectives, for which there is no budget.
Environmentalism, “a very dangerous job”
The environmentalists presented their complaint to the Supreme Court in 2022, but the court rejected it. “This is the first time in history that the Constitutional Court accepts a case like this. We don’t know what will happen in the end, but it has set a precedent,” Vladimir Sliviak tells this newspaper. “Just the fact that they accepted our documents is an important development for Russia. We hope this will help stimulate the debate on climate change because it does not exist now and the authorities avoid it,” he adds.
The NGOs anticipate that the processing of the claim will be slow. Furthermore, the repression suffered by civil society raises doubts about its success. The activists have presented their lawsuit through lawyers who are in Russian territory. “This is a very dangerous job. Those of us who work on climate change in Russia have closed or gone to other countries. Most of the people who are involved in this cause live abroad,” says Sliviak, without going into details of the rest of the members of the initiative.
Some reputable environmental organizations have become banned and equated with extremist movements in Russia. For example, authorities labeled WWF International and Greenpeace as “undesirable organizations” in 2023, meaning that any contact with these associations could lead to jail time.
“The authorities violate three constitutional rights by not fighting climate change,” explains the co-president of Ekoszachita! “The first is the right to live. Future generations will not be able to live if the climate changes too much. We must reduce emissions now to guarantee the future right to life of those generations yet to be born,” says Sliviak, who adds that the second right is to health, especially that of natives whose livelihoods are disappearing, and that the third is “the right to an environment in good condition.”
The NGO warns that many animal species are in danger of disappearing. “Russia has very polluted air. Oil and gas spills often occur, and the country burns a lot of fossil fuels,” the environmentalist points out.
In 2021, Putin ordered, perhaps with his mind already set on his invasion of Ukraine, that coal exports from the country’s main mining region, the Kuzbas Basin, to Asia be increased by 30%. Sanctions against Russia have turned this sector into an important source of income for Moscow, and the president again dictated this year that its railway network be prepared to transport coal.
“The Russian energy strategy plans to increase coal production by 40%, from about 320 million tons per year to about 480 million,” explains Sliviak. The environmentalist admits by phone that fighting climate change will be difficult under the Russian regime, but emphasizes that they must try. “Putin has his own agenda and he doesn’t care about the climate,” concludes the activist.
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