Russian environmental activist group Ecodefense has filed a formal complaint against the Russian climate policy with the Constitutional Court. Joined by 18 environmental, indigenous, and human rights activists, the group is requesting a review of several Russian laws due to their “catastrophic” climate impact.
According to an Ecodefense press release, “average temperatures in Russia are rising more than twice as fast as in the rest of the world”. To reverse the devastating impacts of climate change in Russia, the applicants argue that emissions have to reduce from current levels (2.2. billion tons of CO2e per year) to 968 million tons by 2030 and to 157 million tons by 2050.
The complaint before the Constitutional Court of Russia challenges the constitutionality of the Presidential Decree No. 666 of 4 November 2020 on Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions (the Decree) as well as the Strategy for the Socio-Economic Development of Russia with Low Greenhouse Gas Emissions (the Strategy). These two frameworks jointly constitute Russia’s emissions reduction strategy.
Grigory Vaypan, lawyer for the applicants, is cited saying: “The emissions reduction targets set by Russia are extremely far from the levels required by the Paris Agreement, which means the state is ignoring the protection of citizens from climate change […]”.
A Previous Attempt at Climate Litigation in Russia
Back in 2022, Ecodefense together with other climate organisations had filed the first-ever climate lawsuit before the Russian Supreme Court. They argued that multiple laws violate Russians’ constitutional rights, including their right to life (Article 20), the right to health (Article 40), the right to a healthy environment (Article 42), the rights of indigenous peoples (Articles 9 and 69), and the right to be free from discrimination (Article 19). That last constitutional right was invoked to argue that future generations suffer disproportionally from the adverse impacts of climate change.
The argument under this previous case is identical to the argument brought before the Constitutional Court. A coalition of applicants challenged the validity of the Decree and the Strategy, “since the measures contained in the document are not enough to ‘realistically combat global warming’”.
Aside from invalidating parts of the above two legal instruments, the applicants in the earlier climate lawsuit also requested the Supreme Court of Russia to declare that new legal acts were introduced. Specifically, the new regulatory framework should ensure a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to 968 million metric tonnes of CO2e by 2030, and to 157 million metric tonnes of CO2e by 2050.
According to the Moscow Times, the Supreme Court of Russia had rejected the lawsuit within a couple of days, without considering its merits. Following the rejection, the applicants then lodged their complaint with the European Court of Human Rights in September 2023.
Russian politicians have expressed that they think the climate lawsuit used “the ‘myth’ of climate change to launch a ‘large-scale legal sabotage’”.
Persecution of Environmental Activists in Russia
Environmental activism in Russia is under great pressure. Especially following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, there is increasing persecution of environmental activists since any form of political dissent is likely to face violent crackdowns.
In 2023, Russia issued a declaration labelling its biggest environmental and human rights organisations as ‘illegal’. Among these was the Moscow Helsinki Group, which had been founded in 1976, and was one of the applicants in the original climate lawsuit before the Supreme Court of Russia.
Ecodefense itself is facing judicial harassment and arbitrary detention too, as reported by Frontline Defenders. In 2014, Ecodefense was placed on Russia’s list of ‘foreign agents’, which means they are subjected to heavy scrutiny. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, ‘foreign agents’ have suffered restrictions on their freedom of speech and association, and have been barred from many aspects of public life.
Aleksandra Koroleva, head of Ecodefense, has had to seek refuge in Germany due to the relentless persecution she suffered in Russia, even resulting in potential imprisonment due to trumped-up charges.
Aside from the tightening legal measures, Russia often resorts to physical violence in order to prevent climate activism. Reports include people who were beaten or had their property damaged. One prominent climate activist, Arshak Makichyan, was stripped of his Russian citizenship, leaving him stateless. He had to flee to Germany, after which his brother and father too were stripped of their citizenship.
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