Publications for tag «environment»

Given its powerful oil oligarchs, it’s easy to assume Russia is the quintessential climate denier. Yet the rise of corporate ESG policies in the country suggests Russian capital wants to greenwash just as much as its Western peers.

It often seems that the problem of industrial pollution of the environment is a fairly new phenomenon, which became a topic of wide social discussion only in the second half of the 20th century. Even more novel is the attempt to link environmental problems with issues of state security and protectionist measures. Historian Andrei Vinogradov, using the example of the Waldhof paper mill in Pärnu, shows that more than 120 years ago, issues of exploitation of nature, the imperialist confrontation between the “great powers” and the destruction of the traditional way of life of indigenous peoples were closely intertwined, and environmentalists often had to appeal to “state interests”, to be heard.

As capitalism-driven polycrisis unravels, Africa disproportionately suffers from the harm brought by climate change. The World Meteorological Organization recognises that temperature increases in Africa are slightly above the global average, leading to growing climate change costs. Meanwhile, extreme weather events across the region, including multi-year droughts and floods, create millions of refugees, although international agencies dedicated to the issue do not estimate current numbers. Despite the fact that this group is the most vulnerable among those affected by climate change, the international regime does not recognise these individuals as refugees, trapping people between existential threats from the climate and asylum bureaucracy.