Activists are pressing Russia’s constitutional court to review the nation’s climate policies, specifically its significant methane emissions.
The claim, brought forth by 18 individuals and the NGO Ecodefense, alleges that the Russian government’s inadequate efforts to reduce national greenhouse gas emissions violate their rights to life, health, and a clean environment.
“We are insisting in this case that the current climate policy of Russia is too weak and can’t protect us against the most catastrophic consequences of climate change,” Vladimir Slivyak from Ecodefense told The Guardian.
Also read: South Korea’s constitutional court hears climate protection case
Moscow Helsinki, another organization intending to join the case, was shut down by another Russian court last year. This closure affected the country’s oldest human rights group.
The petitioners previously sought the Russian Supreme Court’s examination of national climate policy, but it declined to hear the case. Consequently, they pursued a fresh claim with the constitutional court, which is responsible for upholding the nation’s constitution.
While the constitutional court has addressed environmental matters in the past, such as state liability for the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, it has yet to address climate change issues.
Also read: Activists push back against EU’s decision to exclude banks from critical deforestation rule
Russia’s energy strategy primarily revolves around the extraction, consumption, and exportation of fossil fuels. Its climate initiatives heavily bank on national forests absorbing twice the amount of carbon they currently do.
However, the Climate Action Tracker (CAT) points out that no evidence supports such a significant increase in carbon absorption. Additionally, Russia’s plan seems to overlook the impact of the severe wildfires that have ravaged its Siberian forests in recent years.
