Russian Federation’s Environmental Security Policy
Russian Federation’s Environmental Security Policy

Author(s): Ahmet Sapmaz
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Environmental and Energy policy
Published by: Transnational Press London
Keywords: Russian federation’s; environmental security policy; environmental; security; policy;
Summary/Abstract: Security studies, which generally focused on military security within the framework of the bipolar balance of power during the Cold War, have started to expand and deepen since the 1980s. In this context, the world ecosystem has become one of the reference objects of security. One of the actors affected by this situation was the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), the leader of the Eastern bloc in the bipolar system. Especially after the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident in 1986, environmental security became more important for the USSR and subsequently for the Russian Federation (RF). RF’s environmental security is of great importance both for itself and for the world for various reasons. First of all, the RF is the largest country in terms of area in the world with 11 time zones. On the other hand, it is second only to the United States of America (USA) in terms of greenhouse gas emissions per capita in 2018. Again, the RF has the highest greenhouse gas intensity as a percentage of gross national product (GDP) in 2018. It is one of the most important countries causing regional and global environmental degradation. The RF is among the countries with the largest reserves of natural resources in the world. For example, some of the Boreal forests, which constitute 20% of the world’s forests, are located in the RF. These forests are of great importance as they are the world’s carbon sinks. Lake Baikal, which contains 20% of the world’s fresh water, is located in the RF. The RF is also a major fishing power and holds the majority of the world’s oil and natural gas reserves. It is home to rich mineral resources including coal, gold, diamonds and iron. All these factors allow the RF to gain an important place in the environmental policy of the region and the world. This study argues that although the RF considers environmental security an important issue for itself and the world, it has failed to prioritize environmental security within the framework of its dense legal regulations, its complex organizational structure, its natural resource-oriented economy, and its intensifying political, military, and economic confrontation with the West. The study will first examine the history of the USSR’s environmental security practices, followed by an analysis of the RF’s environmental security problems and the RF’s environmental security policy. It will end with an evaluation in the conclusion section.

• Details
• Contents