RUSSIA’S CLIMATE CHANGE CONUNDRUM

Climate change represents a multifaceted challenge for Russia. From an economic standpoint, reduced government revenues from energy exports, as experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic due to a gradual phasing out of fossil fuels, led to budgetary constraints. Then there is the risk of stranded infrastructural assets: vulnerable energy infrastructure in Russia’s Arctic region risks being severely damaged and rendered economically useless due to melting permafost. Politically, climate change risks reducing its capacity to exert influence abroad as Moscow’s status of a global “energy powerhouse” may fade. The erosion of this status means that Russia risks losing political leverage over major oil and gas consuming nations.