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Abstract
In this article we examine Russia’s recent public discourse on climate change, with a special focus on the arguments denying anthropogenic climate change. We scrutinise the ways in which denial arguments presented in the media are tied to the changing Russian political and economic context, especially the increasingly authoritarian turn in governance during President Vladimir Putin’s third term in office (Putin 2.0). We conclude that the Russian discourse on climate change emphasises Russia’s Great Power status, identifying its sovereignty and fossil energy as the basis of this status. This discourse refers to key categories, including Russia’s national identity and the spatial–material characteristics of the Russian state.
Notes
1 ‘Joint Science Academies Statement: Global Response to Climate Change’, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, 2005 available at: http://nationalacademies.org/onpi/06072005.pdf, accessed 18 November 2016.
2 Russia’s ratification of the Kyoto Protocol was decisive for the enforcement of the Protocol, particularly so far as requiring industrialised Protocol members to cover at least 55% of the GHG emissions.
3 ‘Utverzdena Klimaticheskaya Doktrina Rossiiskoi Federatsii’, President of Russia, 17 December 2009, available at: http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/6365, accessed 29 March 2018.
4 Rossiiskaya Gazeta, 21 August 2013, available at: http://www.rg.ru/2013/08/21/prichiny-site.html, accessed 29 March 2018.
5 See also Norgaard (Citation2011).
6 Our understanding of the term ‘discourse’ is defined as a shared way of apprehending the world (Dryzek Citation1997, p. 8). Discourses (re)produce specific ideas, concepts or statements and affect those who produce them or their context. Discourses carry legitimacy and power. Thus, it is important to study how discourses are produced and maintained by intended practices aiming to define the truth by those in positions of power (Foucault Citation2008, p. 35).
7 See also Korppoo et al. (Citation2015, p. 27).
8 ‘Uchastie Rossii v Bolshoi Vosmerke’, Levada Centre, 11 April 2014, available at: http://www.levada.ru/old/11-04-2014/uchastie-rossii-v-bolshoi-vosmerke, accessed 16 November 2016.
9 ‘Energy Roadmap 2050’, European Commission, 2011, pp. 16–9, available at: http://ec.europa.eu/energy2020/roadmap/doc/_2011_8852_en.pdf, accessed 2 May 2018.
10 Media Atlas of Russia, 2015, available at: http://www.media-atlas.ru/, accessed 26 November 2015.
11 Media Atlas of Russia, 2015, available at: http://www.media-atlas.ru/, accessed 26 November 2015.
12 Rossiiskaya Gazeta, 14 May 2013, available at: https://rg.ru/2013/05/14/poteplenie.html, accessed 14 April 2018.
13 See also Berger (Citation2013, pp. 35–62).
14 See also Palosaari and Tynkkynen (Citation2015), Laruelle (Citation2014, p. 40).
15 Rossiiskaya Gazeta, 31 May 2013, available at: http://www.rg.ru/2013/05/31/led.html, accessed 17 April 2018. All translations unless otherwise stated are by the authors.
16 Izvestiya, 17 September 2013, available at: http://izvestia.ru/news/557239#ixzz3u6DTLZH6, accessed 17 April 2018.
17 See also Oldfield and Shaw (Citation2006), Korppoo et al. (Citation2015, p. 29).
18 Izvestiya, 13 December 2012, available at: http://izvestia.ru/news/537615, accessed 17 April 2018.
19 Rossiiskaya Gazeta, 5 April 2012, available at: http://www.rg.ru/2012/04/05/resurs.html, accessed 18 April 2018.
20 Barboskiny–107 seriya. Global’noe poteplenie, YouTube, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgkE90RHey4, accessed 18 April 2018.
21 Gordon Kihot–Global’noe poteplenie, available at: https://en.myshows.me/m/view/episode/1111359/, accessed 18 April 2018.
22 See also Rutland (Citation2015).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen
Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen, Associate Professor in Russian Environmental Studies, Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 42, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland. Email: [email protected]
Nina Tynkkynen
Nina Tynkkynen, Senior Lecturer, Baltic Sea Region Studies, University of Turku, Faculty of Humanities, 20014 University of Turku, Finland. Email: [email protected]