Abstract
This article investigates the policy implications of national and regional climate change denial in Russia. While in general Russia has lagged behind in its climate mitigation policy, its key fossil-fuel regions are actively responding to external initiatives and pressures. As the country generally lacks substantial climate policy initiatives, the focus of this study is on the symbolic policy reactions operationalized as the media coverage of climate change at the national and regional levels in Russia during 2017–2018. Following the theoretical perspective of disproportionate policy response, the analysis elaborates on one of the suggested causes of policy over and underreactions, namely, the level of public demand for policy action. The findings indicate potential for disproportionate policy response research to conceive of public demand in broader terms, distinguishing between local, national and international domains.
Highlights
Russia has lagged behind in its climate mitigation policy
The energy-intensive Russian economy risks losing about half a per cent of its GDP growth rate due to climate-related policies that may be implemented outside Russia (Makarov et al, 2017)
This study focused on the policy implications of national and regional climate change denial in Russia
Summary
Russia’s hesitance to engage in domestic climate politics coincides with the prevalent public perception that climate change is natural, cyclical, and not catastrophic (Tynkkynen and Tynkkynen, 2018; Wilson Rowe, 2009). In an interview on local television, Melnikov once stated that the current interglacial period would soon end and ‘after global warming the Earth would phase into the ionic irradiation of our galaxy and freeze’ (Vesti Yamal, 2017) Such an example of blunt trend denial is a rare contradiction of the scientific consensus from a RAN scientist, who, in the case of Melnikov, has been an influential public figure in YNAO for many years. His opinion on climate change can be summarized as follows: global warming occurred in the 1970s and had nothing to do with human activities; the earth is moving towards a new mini ice age – a natural stage of shorter climatic circles which humanity, most famously, last experienced in 17th century Europe. The latter is supported by low public interest and finds justification in almost all types of denial, be it attribution, impact or even trend denial
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