Climate science, Russian politics, and the framing of climate change

Abstract

Historical studies have shown how Soviet scientists figured in politics in unexpected ways. However, little research has been done on the interplay between scientific expert knowledge and contemporary Russian policymaking. This article reviews existing research on a question central to understanding Russia's positions on climate change: What is the relationship between expert knowledge and politics in Russia today? We first address the narratives and practices that have emerged around environmental problems and the science–policy interface in Russia and the Soviet Union more generally and then provide a brief overview of Russia's international and domestic climate politics. How climate change has been framed in the Russian media and the role that scientists have played in these framings and in the Russian policymaking process more generally is then examined. Conceptually, this review draws upon scholarly work in Science and Technology Studies and international relations on the politics of scientific reception. WIREs Clim Change 2013, 4:457–465. doi: 10.1002/wcc.235 This article is categorized under: Social Status of Climate Change Knowledge > Climate Science and Decision Making

Kazakhstan’s climate change policy: reflecting national strength, green economy aspirations and international agenda

“…Inspired by this theoretical discussion, we look at how Kazakh political elites construct the image of the country within climate change discourse and whether the country's postcolonial past is affecting its current responses to climate change. Van Dijk (2001, p. 357) argues that control over public discourse is 'a first major form of power', thus discourse analysis can be seen as a key tool in understanding policymaking process (Leipold et al, 2019), including the one revolving around climate change-related issues (Bäckstrand & Lövbrand, 2019;Wilson Rowe, 2013). Therefore, for this qualitative study, we employ discourse analysis of Kazakhstan's official documents and expert interviews.…”

Climate history of Russia and the Soviet Union

“…A final feature of contemporary climate politics is that below the authoritarian rule at the top, there are many actors influencing public discussions and decisions. Scientists have acted as important advisors in domestic policymaking around climate change and, as we have seen, have participated cooperatively in international institutions like the IPCC (Rowe, 2013a). Ellie Martus's recent examination of environmental politics in Russia reveals that the influence of business and industry leaders, though great, has not been uniform across sectors.…”

“…In particular, support from the government ministries, the parliament, and the president led to the eventual passage of a law on using "best available technology" in 2014 that industry had opposed (Martus, 2018). Climate activists working through nongovernmental organizations in Russia have unsurprisinglygiven the state's moves against groups connected to foreign interests-only had a modest influence on the policy process (Henry, 2010;Martus, 2018;Rowe, 2013a). For its part, the media plays its own important, though often not fully independent, role in shaping "what the audience learns about climate" and revealing "how the state approaches the problem" (Poberezhskaya, 2016, p. 3).…”