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Russia: The Impact of Climate Change to 2030 A Commissioned Research Report 

Prepared By 

Joint Global Change Research Institute and 

Battelle Memorial Institute, Pacific Northwest Division 

The National Intelligence Council sponsors workshops and research with nongovernmental 

experts to gain knowledge and insight and to sharpen debate on critical issues. The views 

expressed in this report do not reflect official US Government positions. 

NIC 2009-04D 

April 2009 
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Scope Note 

Following the publication in 2008 of the National Intelligence Assessment on the 

National Security Implications of Global Climate Change to 2030, the National 

Intelligence Council (NIC) embarked on a research effort to explore in greater detail the 

national security implications of climate change in six countries/regions of the world: 

India, China, Russia, North Africa, Mexico and the Caribbean, and Southeast Asia and 

the Pacific Island States. For each country/region we are adopting a three-phase 

approach. 

• In the first phase, contracted research—such as this publication—explores the latest 

scientific findings on the impact of climate change in the specific region/country. 

• In the second phase, a workshop or conference composed of experts from outside the 

Intelligence Community (IC) will determine if anticipated changes from the effects of 

climate change will force inter- and intra-state migrations, cause economic hardship, 

or result in increased social tensions or state instability within the country/region. 

• In the final phase, the NIC Long-Range Analysis Unit (LRAU) will lead an IC effort 

to identify and summarize for the policy community the anticipated impact on US 

national security. 

EastLink Consulting, LLC, collaborating with the Joint Global Change Research Institute 

(JGCRI) and Battelle, Pacific Northwest Division (Battelle, PNWD), developed this 

assessment on the climate change impact on Russia through 2030 under a contract with 

SCITOR Corporation. The Central Intelligence Agency’s Office of the Chief Scientist, 

serving as the Executive Agent for the DNI, supported and funded the contract. 

This assessment identifies and summarizes the latest peer-reviewed research related to 

the impact of climate change on Russia, drawing on both the literature summarized in the 

latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment reports and on 

other peer-reviewed research literature and relevant reporting. It includes such impact as 

sea level rise, water availability, agricultural shifts, ecological disruptions and species 

extinctions, infrastructure at risk from extreme weather events (severity and frequency), 

and disease patterns. This paper addresses the extent to which regions within Russia are 

vulnerable to climate change impact. The targeted time frame is to 2030, although 

various studies referenced in this report have diverse time frames. 

This assessment also identifies (Annex B) deficiencies in climate change data that would 

enhance the IC understanding of potential impact on Russia and other countries/regions. 
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Executive Summary 

Russia is already experiencing the impacts of climate change in the form of milder 

winters; melting permafrost; changing precipitation patterns; the spread of disease; and 

increased incidence of drought, flooding, and other extreme weather events. Many of 

these observed climate impacts are having concrete, negative effects on Russians’ quality 

of life. By 2030, Russia will start to feel the impacts of climate change in relation to both 

water and food supply. Nonetheless, a significant portion of the country’s senior leaders 

continue to voice the view that a warming climate is a net benefit for Russia. Russia has 

a number of attributes that provide a greater capacity for resilience than some other 

industrialized countries and most developing countries. However, as the impacts of 

climate change continue and intensify over the coming years, Russia’s capacity to 

adapt and protect its people will be severely tested. 

The most important impacts of climate change in Russia will likely include the following: 

• Energy. A warming climate holds the possibility of milder and shorter heating 

seasons, which in turn may lead to reduced Russian energy demand. Increased 

water availability—particularly along those Siberian rivers that are used for 

hydroelectric power—should result in increased power production in certain 

parts of the country. However, existing and future energy infrastructure for the 

all-important petroleum industry will experience more pronounced challenges—

structural subsidence, risks associated with river crossings, and construction 

difficulties as permafrost thaws earlier and deeper, impeding the construction of 

vital new production areas. These latter challenges have the potential for a 

material, negative impact on the single-greatest source of revenue to the Russian 

state—the oil and gas industry. 

• Water. Many parts of Russia’s massive territory will experience increases in the 

availability of water, including much of Siberia, the Far North, and northwestern 

Russia. This change will bring certain positive impacts—including for hydroelectric 

generation (above). However, managing the increased flows will pose other 

problems, especially when these increased flows coincide with extreme weather 

events such as downpours, or springtime ice-clogged floods. In addition, increasing 

water shortages are predicted for southern parts of European Russia, areas that 

already experience significant socioeconomic and sociopolitical stresses. Moreover, 

a number of densely populated Russian regions that are already subject to water 

shortages are expected to face even more pronounced difficulties in decades to come. 

• Agriculture. As growing seasons become longer and precipitation patterns 

change, using lands for agricultural purposes that previously would have been 

too far north—too cold for too much of the year—will become possible. Raising 

new crops and new varieties of crops that are currently grown in Russia also could 

become possible. However, a changing climate may not be hospitable to expanded 

agriculture. A key question is whether the longer growing seasons and the warmer 

Russian agricultural lands will result in increased yields. Yields of existing crops 

may fail and whether new crops will succeed remains to be seen. Agriculture will 

become more reliant on irrigation (especially in the southern parts of European 
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Russia), pesticides and herbicides, and more vulnerable to droughts and other 

extreme weather. 

• Migration. Russia, which is already the number two destination for immigrants 

(after the United States) is likely to experience greater migration pressure from 

Central Asia, the Caucasus countries, Mongolia, and northeastern China. These 

latter areas are expected to experience increased water shortages and resulting 

economic stress. In addition, internal migration pressures may occur as residents in 

Russia’s many northern cities face increasing economic and climate-related 

challenges. 

• Accentuation of existing socioeconomic and sociopolitical stresses. Russia is 

better equipped to deal with the impacts of climate change than many of its 

neighbors. Nonetheless, by 2030, climate change appears likely to accentuate 

some of the stresses that currently plague Russia. Some of the most affected 

regions are areas where already socioeconomic and sociopolitical relations are 

attenuated and unsettled. Most of the impacts of climate change will manifest 

themselves in smaller cities and in the Russian countryside. For example, the longturbulent North Caucasus region will be drier, hotter, and less prosperous than it is 

today. The Primorskiy Kray and the Russian Far East, which have long struggled to 

develop peacefully next to China, appear likely to experience even greater migration 

pressures, which could exacerbate longstanding cross-border tensions. 
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Contents 

Page 

Scope Note 1 

Executive Summary 3 

Introduction and Background 

Current Climatology of Russia 

7 

7 

Projected Regional Climate Change 

Climate Observations 

Climate Predictions (Modeling) 

Climate Projections of Future Temperature and Precipitation 

Permafrost and Arctic Ice Projections 

Projections of Changes in Agriculture Growing Seasons 

Changes in the Frequency or Strength of Extreme Climatic Events 

8 

8 

10 

11 

14 

16 

16 

Impacts of Climate Change on Human-Natural Systems 

Economic Growth and Development 

Energy Systems 

Food Production and Drinking Water Supply 

Transportation Systems 

Human Health 

Coping Capabilities in Facing Natural Disasters 

Other Urban Infrastructure 

International Issues 

17 

17 

18 

25 

27 

28 

29 

30 

31 

Adaptive Capacity 

Russian Adaptive Capacity in a Global Context 

Strengths/Weaknesses in Adaptive Capacity Assessments 

32 

33 

38 

Conclusions: High Risk Impacts 39 

Annexes: 

A: Accuracy of Regional Models 41

B: Knowledge Deficiencies that Preclude a Full Evaluation of Climate 

 Change Impacts on Russia and Russia’s Adaptive Capacity 45 
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Introduction and Background 

Current Climatology of Russiai

 

Russia has the largest amount of land area of any country in the world. Most of this area is more 

than 400 kilometers from the sea, with the center of the country being almost 4,000 kilometers 

from the sea. The terrain ranges from grassy steppes in the south to frigid tundra in the polar 

north. The treeless, marshy tundra comprises almost 10 percent of the country. Russia’s 

topography includes the world’s deepest lake and Europe’s highest mountain, and its landscape 

contains all the major vegetation zones of the world except a tropical rain forest. More than half of 

the country is above 60° north latitude and is covered with snow for almost half of the year. 

Less than one percent of Russia’s population lives in the northernmost part of the country, from the 

Finnish border to the Bering Strait. This area, shaped by glaciation in the last ice age, continues to 

be subject to erosion by frost weathering. Rivers here flow north to the Arctic Ocean, often 

hampering drainage of lakes and ponds across the tundra. Summer nights, called “white” nights, 

are so short that dawn comes shortly after dusk. Vegetation above the permafrost consists mostly 

of mosses, lichen, and dwarf trees and shrubs. 

Russia’s large forested region, called the taiga, comprises an area about the size of the United 

States and contains primarily coniferous trees such as spruce, cedar, larch, and fir. The region 

includes most of European Russia, and about one-third of Russia’s people live there. The annual 

average temperature of this region is below freezing; the northern part of this region is one of the 

coldest inhabited areas on Earth. 

The steppes, often imaged as typical Russian landscape, are treeless, grassy plains occasionally 

interrupted by mountain ranges. Located from south of Moscow to the Black and Caspian seas, 

this is the only region that has a relatively temperate climate and is suited to agriculture. However, 

the region occasionally experiences catastrophic droughts and short, intense periods of 

precipitation. At the southernmost part of the region, a narrow subtropical climate warms the 

edges of the Black Sea and provides Russia’s only warm resort area. 

Most of Russia receives little precipitation. In the south and east, mountain ranges prevent Indian 

and Pacific Ocean winds from bringing precipitation and warmer temperatures inland. The highest 

levels of precipitation are in the northwest region of the country, with levels decreasing toward 

southeast and European Russia. The wettest areas are along the Pacific coast and near the 

Caucasus. A monsoonal climate along Russia’s Pacific coast brings seasonally high amounts of 

precipitation, reversing the direction of winds in summer and winter. 

In winter, steady winds tend to blow from the south and southwest across most of the country. In 

summer, winds come from the north and northwest. This reversal of the winds causes less 

temperature variation than might be expected between winter and summer. For January, the 

average temperatures are -8 degrees Celsius (°C) in St. Petersburg, -27°C in the West Siberian 

Plain, and -43°C at Yakutsk (east-central Siberia, at about the same latitude as St. Petersburg). In 

the summer, the Arctic islands average 4°C, and the southernmost regions of Russia average 20°C. 
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Projected Regional Climate Change 

Climate Observations 

Temperature trends over most of the Arctic and northern Russia before about 1920 were likely 

dominated by natural variability.ii It is difficult to explain increasing temperatures since 1920 

without including the impacts of human emissions of greenhouse gases. Average temperatures 

over the past decade are the warmest ever measured in the documented history of climate records 

in Russia. Studies by Roshydromet,iii the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and 

Environmental Monitoring, show that annual average temperatures over Russia have increased 

significantly during the past 10 years; the models suggest a continuation of this trend over the next 

five to 10 years. Such conclusions are supported by the findings of other Russian agencies, the 

Russian Academy of Sciences in particular, and by most foreign scientists (Figure 1). 

Data collected by the Roshydromet surface network of hydrometeorological observations show 

that during 1990-2000 the mean annual surface air temperature increased by 0.4°C. (During the 

previous hundred years, the increase was only about 1.0°C.) Warming is more evident in winter 

and spring and more intensive east of the Urals.iv 

Temperatures in the Arctic are rising at almost double the rate of the global average. In many 

inland Arctic regions, surface air temperatures have warmed 0.2°C per decade over the past 30 

years. Sea ice in the Arctic has decreased by 3 percent per decade between 1978 and 1996, and 

summer sea ice thickness has decreased by 40 percent since the 1950s.v

 Precipitation at high 

latitudes has increased by 15 percent over the past decade, with most of this increase occurring 

over the past 40 years.vi Arctic summers are now warmer than at any time in at least the past 400 

years. 

The fourth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) climate change assessment 

(AR4)vii reported that in areas of the boreal north, the liquid precipitation season has become 

longer by up to three weeks over the past 50 years. Increasing winter temperatures in the northern 

regions has considerably changed the ice regime1 of the region’s water bodies. Comparing the 

years 2010-2015 with 1950-1979, the assessment predicts that, in the later period, ice cover 

duration on the rivers in Siberia is expected to be 15-27 days shorter and maximum ice cover 

thinner by 20-40 percent. Also, an annual increase of 5 percent was observed in river flow, with a 

winter increase of 25-90 percent over the base flow due to increased melt and thawing permafrost. 

Winter snowfall and snow depth in the Northern Hemisphere’s high latitude regions have 

increased during the past few decades; this trend is likely to be associated with increasing 

precipitation related to surface air warming. This trend is supported by significant positive trends 

in winter temperatures across much of the former Soviet Union in the past 50 years.viii 

Most recent research shows that Siberian permafrost temperatures rose considerably during the 

latter half of the 20th century, although the extent to which this can be attributed entirely to climate 

warming is currently unknown. Recent research revealed positive warming trends for all 

permafrost regions in response to positive trends in air temperature, with the strongest warming 

trend in regions of continuous permafrost. A slight cooling trend is found only for the topmost soil 

layers in regions of seasonally frozen ground at the southern margins of the region draining into 

the Arctic. 

 

1

 An ice regime is a region of generally consistent ice conditions. Ice types are measured in a range from grey ice 

(0-.15 m) to permanent ice (>3 m). See ftp://ftp2.chc.nrc.ca/CRTreports/ISOPE_98_IRS_database.pdf. 
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Figure 1. Surface air temperature increase in Russia, the Northern Hemisphere, and the world, 

1900-2004. Source: Dobrolyubova, Julia, Climate Change Effects and Assessment of Adaptation 

Potential in the Russian Federation (Moscow: Russian Regional Environmental Centre, 

November 19-20, 2007), slides. 

Melting permafrost serves as another revealing indicator of climate change. Significant areas of 

the Russian permafrost zone, which covers 60 percent of the country (the largest such region in the 

world falling under a single nation’s jurisdiction), clearly show a trend of temperature increase in 

the top layers of frozen ground from the 1970s to the 1990s, corresponding with the warming of 

the atmosphere. Although climate change in European Russia is less severe than in Siberia, the 

change in the condition of frozen terrain is no less substantial. In the past 20-30 years, 

temperatures in the frozen ground of Russia’s European Arctic and Subarctic have increased 

between 0.22 and 1.56°C, matching increases in the number and thickness of taliks (thawed 

underground pockets). These observations suggest a progressive increase in seasonally thawing 

soil, as well as a 14-80 percent increase in thawed pockets of soil in individual regions of the 

Russian Arctic.ix 

Areas of seasonal frost have also shifted noticeably northward, and the area of isolated and 

sporadic pockets of frozen soil has decreased.x

 Although deeper layers of frozen soil are insulated 

against thawing by icy strata and organic soil and vegetation, models suggest that deeper seasonal 

thawing may change the composition of plant and animal communities.xi Natural tundra will 

likely grow smaller disappear entirely as a result.2 xii 

Satellite-derived measurements of snowfall show a spring and summertime decrease, likely due to 

increased temperatures. Snow accumulation over Russia accounts for about 5 percent of fresh 

water discharge to the Arctic Ocean. Significant changes in fresh water discharge have affected 

the salinity, sea ice distribution and circulation of the Arctic and nearby oceans. North of 50° N 

 

2

 The source does not provide an exact date of when natural tundra depletion may occur, other than mentioning that the 

change in composition of plant and animal communities is already occurring: “Although deeper layers of frozen soil are 

insulated against thawing by intermediate icy strata and a layer of organic soil and vegetation, models demonstrate that 

further deepening of seasonal thawing as a result of rising air temperatures may upset that balance. Should this happen, it 

will change (and this is already occurring) the composition of plant and animal communities, and existing natural complexes 

of the tundra may severely dwindle, or disappear entirely.” http://assets.panda.org/downloads/wwf_arctica_eng_1.pdf 
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latitude, annual precipitation has increased by about 4 percent over the past 50 years, especially 

over Russia’s permafrost-free zone and the entire Great Russian Plain. Over northern Russia, 

snow is providing a declining fraction of total annual precipitation. 

The 20th century saw a trend of increased river output from the six largest Eurasian rivers flowing 

into the Arctic Ocean.xiii A similar trend is found in the climate simulation for the same period by 

the Hadley Centre's coupled climate model when the effects of manmade greenhouse gases are 

included. This finding is in line with predictions that global warming will cause changes in the 

water cycle. 

Studies have shown that runoff in the Lena River increases in winter, spring, and (especially) the 

summer; and discharges decrease in autumn. These changes in seasonal streamflow characteristics 

indicate a hydrologic regime shift toward early snowmelt and higher summer streamflow, perhaps 

due to regional climate warming and permafrost degradation in the southern parts of Siberia. 

Winter snow accumulation is a major influence on summer and autumn discharge of the Ob and 

Yenisey Rivers and can affect winter and spring discharges of the Lena River, suggesting the 

importance of topography and permafrost conditions to river discharges in high-latitude regions. 

Climate Predictions (Modeling) 

Although Global Circulation (or Climate) Models (GCMs) can be used to infer climate changes in 

specific regions, developing models that have a high resolution sufficient to resolve local and 

regional scale changes is preferable. There are many challenges in reliably simulating and 

attributing observed temperature changes at regional and local scales. At these scales, natural 

climate variability can be relatively larger, making it harder to distinguish long-term changes 

expected due to external forcings. 

The procedure of estimating the response at local scales based on results predicted at larger scales 

is known as “downscaling.” The two main methods for deriving information about the local 

climate are (1) dynamical downscaling (also referred to as “nested modeling” using “regional 

climate models” or “limited area models”), and (2) statistical downscaling (also referred to as 

“empirical” or “statistical-empirical” downscaling). Chemical composition models include the 

emission of gases and particles as inputs and simulate their chemical interactions; global transport 

by winds; and removal by rain, snow, and deposition to the earth’s surface. 

Downscaled regional climate models rely on global models to provide boundary conditions and the 

radiative effect of well-mixed greenhouse gases for the region to be modeled. There are three 

primary approaches to numerical downscaling: (1) limited-area models, (2) stretched-grid models, 

and (3) uniformly high resolution atmospheric GCMs (AGCMs) or coupled atmosphere-ocean 

(-sea ice) GCMs (AOGCMs). 

The magnitudes and patterns of the projected rainfall changes differ significantly among models, 

probably due to their coarse resolution. The Atlantic and Pacific Oceans are strongly influenced 

by natural variability occurring on decadal scales, but the Indian Ocean appears to be exhibiting a 

steady warming. Natural variability (from ENSO, for example) in ocean-atmosphere dynamics 

can lead to important differences in regional rates of surface-ocean warming that affect the 

atmospheric circulation and hence warming over land surfaces. Including sulfate aerosols in the 

models damps the regional climate sensitivity, but greenhouse warming still dominates the 

changes. Models that include emissions of short-lived radiatively active gases and particles 

suggest that future climate changes could significantly increase maximum ozone levels in already 
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polluted regions. Projected growth of emissions of radiatively active gases and particles in the 

models suggest that they may significantly influence the climate, even out to year 2100. 

Stabilization emissions scenarios assume future emissions based on an internally consistent set of 

assumptions about driving forces (such as population, socioeconomic development, and 

technological change) and their key relationships. These emissions are constrained so that the 

resulting atmospheric concentrations of the substance level off at a predetermined value in the 

future. For example, if one assumes the global CO2 concentrations are stabilized at 450 parts per 

million (ppm) (the current value is about 380 ppm), the climate models can be tuned to produce 

this result. The tuned model predictions for regional climate changes can be used to assess specific 

impacts at this stabilization level. A more detailed discussion of the ability of the models to 

project regional climate changes can be found in Annex A. 

Climate Projections of Future Temperature and Precipitation 

The IPCC AR4 does not include predictions specifically focused on Russia. Most of the country is 

included within a modeling region referred to as Northern Asia (NAS). Warming in this region is 

expected to be well above the global mean—consistent with the more general result that high 

latitudes will (and are) warming more than low latitudes (see Figure 2). This warming is 

particularly great in autumn and early winter when sea ice is thinnest and the snow depth is 

insufficient to blur the relationship between surface air temperature and sea ice thickness. 

Precipitation is also very likely to increase (Annex A).xiv 

Figure 2. IPCC projected temperature increases for Northern Asia (NAS) (including Russia). 

Temperature anomalies with respect to 1901-1950 for the NAS land region for 1906-2005 (black 

line) and as simulated (red envelope) by multi-model datasets incorporating known forcings; and 

as projected for 2001-2100 for the A1B scenario (orange envelope). The bars at right represent 

the range of projected changes for 2091-2100 for the B1 (blue), the A1B (orange) and the A2 (red) 

scenarios. Source: Climate Change Risk Management Ltd, “Climate Change in Russia: research 

and impacts” (May 2008), hyperlink (accessed February 17, 2009): 

http://www.uk-russia-ccproject.info/documents/Impacts_in_Russia_Report_2008.pdf 

The Arctic is extremely vulnerable to climate change.xv The region is warming much more rapidly 

than the global average. The IPCC report states that the winter warming of northern high latitude 

regions by the end of the century will be at least 40 percent greater than the global mean, based on 

a number of models and emissions scenarios. Temperature increases for the central Arctic are 
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projected to be about 3-4°C during the next 50 years. Even an optimistic scenario for projecting 

future greenhouse gas emissions yields a result of a 4°C increase in autumn and winter average 

temperatures in the Arctic by the end of this century. Recent satellite data show that the area 

covered with perennial ice in the Arctic Ocean has receded significantly in recent years, falling to 

nearly half the area observed in 2005. 

During the 21st century, the thaw depth will increase substantially, summer soil moisture will 

eventually be reduced, and a poleward movement of the permafrost extent is expected. Based on 

three global climate models (Canadian Climate Center scenario, GFDL scenario and ECHAM 

scenario), a 30-40 percent increase in active layer thickness for most of the permafrost area is 

projected, with the largest relative increases concentrated in the northernmost locations.xvi 

Regionally, the changes are a response to both increased temperature and increased precipitation 

(changes in circulation patterns). In a few regions, Siberia for example, the amount of snow is 

projected to increase because of the increase in precipitation (snowfall) from autumn to winter. 

Consistent results from the majority of the current generation of models show, for a future warmer 

climate, that a poleward shift of storm tracks occurs with greater storm activity at higher 

latitudes.xvii 

Most models ignore the effect of land cover change in future projections. Past and future changes 

in land cover may affect the climate in several ways, causing changes in albedo, in the ratio of 

latent to sensible heat, and therefore in surface temperature, and in CO2 fluxes to and from the 

land. No coupled AOGCM has included all the effects of land cover changes. The general 

consensus is that land cover changes may be very important at the regional level, where these 

changes occur. 

At the regional level, the Russian Federation has considerable experience in climate modeling, 

with three centers of research: St.Petersburg V.A. Fock Institute of Physics; Institute for 

Numerical Mathematics (INM) in Moscow, and the Oboukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics in 

the Russian Academy of Sciences (IAP-RAS) in Moscow. Both the INM and the IAP-RAS have 

their own climate models, although only the former submitted simulation data as part of the IPCC 

fourth assessment process. 

Table 1 shows the 2080-2099 temperature and precipitation projections from a set of 21 global 

models. The numbers represent average (mean) changes from the period 1980-1999 over the 21 

models. For each season, the minimum, 25 percent, 50 percent, 75 percent, and maximum changes 

are shown. For example, for the winter (DJF, or December, January and February), the average 

minimum temperature increase is 2.9°C, and the average precipitation change is +12 percent. 

The five-to-10-year projections of the Russian hydro-dynamical climate modelsxviii match very 

well with the model projections of the IPCC AR4xix, when the same scenarios and assumptions are 

used.xx These projections suggest that the mean annual surface air temperature over Russia will 

increase over the next five to 10 years by 0.60o

C±0.2 from the annual mean temperature in the year 

2000. The increase in temperature will vary by region, but by 2015 the average winter 

temperatures will have increased by an additional 1°C. In summer, the increase is only expected to 

be 0.40°C. During this same period, annual averaged precipitation is projected to increase by 4-6 

percent, with the increase being as much as 7-9 percent north of Eastern Siberia.xxi 
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This table is UNCLASSIFIED. 

Table 1: Regional averages of temperature and precipitation projections from a set of 21 global 

models in the MMD for the A1B scenario for the region of Northern Asia (NAS: 50°N, 40°E: 

70°N, 180°E). The table shows the minimum, maximum, median (50 percent), and 25 and 75 

percent quartile values among the 21 models, for temperature (°C) and precipitation (percent) 

change. The changes are calculated as the 2080-2099 mean with respect to the 1980-1999 mean. 

DJF=December January February, MAM= March April May, JJA=June July August, 

SON=September October November. Source: Table 11.1 in IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on 

Climate Change]. Climate Change 2007: the Physical Science Basis, ed. S. Solomon, D. Qin, M. 

Manning, M. Marquis, K. Averyt, M.M.B. Tignor, H.L. Jr. Miller, and Z. Chen (Cambridge: 

Cambridge University Press, 2007). 

Maximum temperature increases are expected to occur in the winter in the Arctic.xxii By the 

middle of the 21st century, temperatures are projected to rise as much as 4-5oC in the Arkhangelsk 

region, the Komi Republic, the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area, and over Taimyr.xxiii 

Temperature increases in the summer in these regions are small. However, in the southern regions, 

such as in the Northern Caucasus, the Volga region, and in the south of Western Siberia, an 

increase of 2–3°C is projected. 

According to an assessment done by the World Wildlife Fund (2008),xxiv an appreciable increase in 

winter precipitation totals is expected by 2050—notably, a 30 percent increase on the Taymyr 

Peninsula and a 15-20 percent increase in Chukotka and the Barents Sea region. This increase in 

precipitation is expected to continue throughout the second half of the century. Total precipitation 

will more than double current values in the eastern Russian Arctic, consequently forming a deep 

layer of snow and reducing the period of soil freeze in winter. Alternatively, summer precipitation 

totals will increase only 5-10 percent by 2050, and 10-20 percent by the end of the 21st century, 

with the increase being slightly larger in the eastern part of the Arctic. An increase in the 

frequency of heavy rainfall is forecasted for the same region, effectively accelerating coastline

erosion. Throughout the Arctic, there will be more rainfall than evaporation, despite predicted 

increases in evaporation due to warming.xxv The result is the formation of bogs3

, more likely 

prominent along the central and eastern Arctic coast. 

Trends of wintertime snow mass accumulation vary over the country. In European Russia (that is, 

Russia east of the Urals) and south of Western Siberia snow mass is expected to decrease 

compared with long-term mean values. By 2015 a 10-15 percent decrease is expected. In most of 

the rest of Russia, snow accumulation is expected to increase by 2-4 percent.xxvi 

 

3

 According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, bogs are “characterized by spongy peat deposits, acidic waters, and 

a floor covered by a thick carpet of sphagnum moss. Bogs receive all or most of their water from precipitation rather than 

from runoff, groundwater or streams. As a result, bogs are low in the nutrients needed for plant growth, a condition that is 

enhanced by acid forming peat mosses.” See http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/types/bog.html. 
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Projected changes in annual river runoff vary across the country. Winter runoff is projected to 

increase from 60-90 percent in the Central and Volga Federal Districts, and from 5-40 percent in 

other Federal Districts. In the Black Earth area and in the south of the Siberia Federal District, 

springtime river runoff is projected to decrease by 10-20 percent.xxvii 

Permafrost and Arctic Ice Projections 

According to a collaborative report led by Climate Change Risk Management (CCRM),xxviii

seasonal thaw depths are predicted to increase around 2050 by more than 50 percent in the 

northernmost permafrost regions, and 30-50 percent elsewhere. By 2100, it is predicted that 

almost 60 percent of current permafrost regions will thaw and freeze on a seasonal basis.xxix 

Increased precipitation contributes to the thawing of frozen soils and is projected to lead to a 14 

percent increase in freshwater discharge into the Arctic Ocean. Modelers warn that there are 

significant uncertainties in model projections of changes to the permafrost.xxx 

A coupled climate-permafrost model was used by Anisimov and Renava (2006)xxxi to calculate 

changes in permafrost extent and thickness for three timeslices. Model results predict a reduction 

of near-surface permafrost area by 11 percent, 18 percent, and 23 percent by 2030, 2050, and 2080, 

respectively. Contractions of near-surface permafrost over these same periods are 18 percent, 29 

percent, and 41 percent, respectively. 

Despite the uncertainties, most modelers agree that seasonal thaw depths will increase by more 

than 50 percent in the northern Russia, including much of Siberia and the Far East; and by 30 

percent to 50 percent in most other permafrost regions.xxxii Figure 3 shows the projected changes 

in active-layer permafrost thickness in northern Eurasia by 2050. Increased methane emissions 

from the melting permafrost will be a significant feedback on radiative forcing and climate change. 

Projected changes in the permafrost to the year 2050 are shown in Figure 3. 

Most models project that summer ice will decline much more rapidly than winter ice.xxxiii Arctic 

sea ice is projected to decrease more rapidly than other sea ice.xxxiv Some scientists suggest that 

the Arctic Ocean could be ice free in summer in the next 10-20 years.xxxv 
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Figure 3. Projected 2050 changes of the active-layer permafrost thickness in northern 

Eurasia, relative to present-day simulations, based on forcing from three different global 

climate models: (a) CCC (Canadian Climate Center) scenario; (b) GFDL scenario; (c) 

ECHAM scenario (From Anisimov and Reneva 2006). Source: Climate Change Risk 

Management Ltd, “Climate Change in Russia: research and impacts” (May 2008), 

http://www.uk-russia-ccproject.info/documents/Impacts_in_Russia_Report_2008.pdf 

(accessed February 17, 2009). 
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Projections of Changes in Agricultural Growing Seasons 

The decline in the number of very cold winters in many regions across Russia has led to better 

conditions for growing winter crops. In the Central Black-Earth and Volga regions, the frequency 

of very cold winters has decreased from an average of 18-22 percent in the period up to 1990 to 

8-10 percent in the past several years.xxxvi In Northern Caucasia, this frequency has been reduced 

from 10 percent to 4 percent. 

Conditions for growing corn have improved in many areas of European Russia. In the Stavropol 

Territory, “climate-related”xxxvii corn yield has increased 30 percent over the past 20 years, but in 

parts of Asian Russia (e.g., the Baikal), corn yield has decreased. 

From 1970 to 2000, the growing season (with air temperatures above +5o

C) lengthened by an 

average of approximately 5-10 days over much of the agricultural region in European Russia. 

However, frost-free periods did not lengthen.xxxviii 

If this trend continues, agricultural production may increase significantly by 2015. The growing 

season is likely to be significantly lengthened. Both the growing season and duration of frost-free 

days may be increased on the order of 10-20 days per year.xxxix Many plant species may 

experience a northward migration of growing boundaries. On the Siberian rivers and in the Kama 

River basin, a reduction of the freeze period of as many as 15-27 days is expected by 2010-2015. 

Changes in the Frequency or Strength of Extreme Climatic Events 

Changes in the frequency of extreme events may be one of the most damaging consequences of 

climate change. Climate change over the past 10-20 years in Russia has been linked to extreme 

events, including heat waves, floods, and fires. The IPCC assessmentxl reports a substantial 

increase in the number of days with more than 10 millimeters of rain in Siberia, causing a 50-70 

percent increase in surface runoff. There were also a significant increase in the number of fires in 

Siberian peatlands and more frequent flooding in Russian Arctic rivers due to heavy rain and 

earlier breakup of river ice.xli Satellite measurements show that vegetation fires, mostly forest 

fires, occurred over about 10 million hectares during 1997-2003. Outbreaks of disease-carrying 

insects also occurred in the northern part of the country, where outbreaks have never been 

observed in the past.xlii 

Observations suggest that large floods are already more frequent.xliii By 2015, there is likely to be 

more flooding in river basins in the Archangelsk Region, the Komi Republic, the Ural area, and in 

the basins of Enisei and Lena.xliv In the Arctic, increased water discharges occurring earlier in the 

spring may be blocked by ice jams, causing the duration of inundated flood plains to increase from 

the current 12 days to 24 days. In the past five years, the Lena, one of the world’s 10 largest 

rivers, has experienced two floods more severe that any previous recorded flood.xlv 

Ice-jam-induced floods in the Lena River Basin are expected to double by 2015. Flooding in the 

Far East and the Maritime areas is expected to double or triple. In the mountain and submountain 

regions of Northern Caucasia (Republics of North Caucasia, Stavropol Region) and in the Western 

and Eastern Sayan Mountains, more mudflow and landslide hazards are expected.xlvi In 

St. Petersburg, the probability of a disastrous flood is expected to increase in the next 5-10 

years.xlvii 

The average annual discharge of fresh water from the six largest Eurasian rivers to the Arctic 

Ocean increased by 7 percent between 1936 and 1999.xlviii Peterson et al. (2002), Wu et al. (2005) 

and Shiklomanov et al. (2006)xlix project Russian river discharges will continue to increase at an 
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accelerated rate. The average projected change in annual discharge in large Russian rivers is 

around 15 percent (range: -12 to 45 percent).l Annual discharge in the Yenisey, Ob, Lena and 

Kolyma rivers are projected to change by 6-45 percent, -12-45 percent, 12-45 percent, and 10-45 

percent, respectively.li All experienced significantly larger increases in winter discharges—as 

much as 325 percent in a high-sensitivity scenario (4oC).lii 

Over this century, increases in the frequency and intensity of heat waves are expected in western 

and central Europe, possibly including parts of Russia. A record-breaking heat wave occurred in 

central Europe in summer 2003. This event was the hottest since instrumental records began 

around 1780 (1.4°C above the previous warmest in 1807) and is very likely to have been the 

hottest since at least 1500.liii 

Hazardous events due to the changes in permafrost are expected to increase by 2015.liv Melting of 

permafrost islands will lead to increases in landslides, mudflows, and other dramatic and abrupt 

changes in the landscape.lv When a glacier recedes, unstable glacial lakes are formed that increase 

the likelihood of glacier-related outbursts and debris slides. Glacier retreat between 1985 and 2000 

has resulted in a 3-6 percent increase in the proportion of glaciers covered by debris, increasing the 

melt rate and the likelihood of glacier-related significant events such as rock and mud slides.lvi 

On both the Baltic and Pacific coasts, a rise in sea level may result in the coastline being more 

vulnerable to tsunamis. Studies of the Baltic region have stressed the possibility that tsunami 

activity could profoundly affect the coastline. Some of the largest tsunamis ever observed have 

occurred along the Pacific coast, which is prone to tsunamis. The IPCC 2007 assessment identifies 

the Baltic and White seas as areas of probable increased flooding and erosion.lvii 

Over large areas of Russia, the number of both high-intensity and mid-intensity fire-hazard days is 

expected to increase. By 2015 the number of fire-hazard days may increase by more than five 

days in a season on most of the territory. The areas most likely to experience an increased duration 

of fire-hazard days (more than 7 days in a season) include areas south of the Khanty-Mansi 

Autonomous Area; and in Kurgan, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Kemerovo and Tomsk Regions, 

Krasnoyarsk and Altai Territories, Sakha-Yakutia Republic.lviii 

Impacts of Climate Change on Human-Natural Systems 

In Russia, the socioeconomic impact of climate change has long been controversial. Some of 

Russia’s most prominent climate scientists have argued persistently that a warming climate will 

bring net positive benefits for a cold, massive country whose territory includes vast expanses of 

permafrost and undeveloped forests, while others posit some unmitigated negatives. While the 

debate continues among Russian observers, the weight of scientific evidence points to a more 

complicated picture—some significant benefits, as well as profound problems for human systems 

that have the potential to challenge Russia’s ability to respond. 

Economic Growth and Development 

The Russia that will face the unfolding impacts of climate change between now and 2030 is a 

Russia newly grown accustomed to relative wealth. No longer is it the economic basket case that 

it was in the 1980s and 1990s. In fact, until the global financial crisis began to bite in Russia in 

late 2008, the country had ridden a decade-long wave of economic good fortune following the 

crash of the Russian ruble in August 1998. 

Russia is extraordinarily dependent on its extractive industries and commodity production. In 

addition, the country’s development has been highly uneven, with most wealth concentrated in the 
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capital, Moscow. Only a modest trickle-down effect has occurred in smaller cities, and virtually 

none has occurred in rural areas. Most of the impacts of climate change will manifest themselves 

in smaller cities and in the Russian countryside. 

Another consideration that relates to the advance of climate change impacts is the role of the 

government in people’s everyday lives. During Soviet times, government was highly intrusive but 

simultaneously was the source of considerable private skepticism. (“We pretend to work; they 

pretend to pay us,” was one of the core folk wisdoms.) Government did, however, provide 

services that ensured a minimum standard of living for nearly all citizens. In today’s Russia, many 

people have arguably even less expectation that the government will provide for their minimum 

requirements. But if climate change begins to wreak serious humanitarian impacts, such as 

recurrent massive flooding or the collapse of aging infrastructure, and if the government is not in a 

position to respond in a commensurate way, one of the key questions will be whether climate 

change prompts political unrest. For the time being, we judge this to be a significant, but 

unresolvable open question. 

Energy Systems 

The stable operation of energy systems is a major technological challenge for a country as massive 

as Russia. It is also a matter of vital importance to everyday Russians, whose day-to-day survival 

depends on the timely availability of heat and power in the face of Russia’s severe climate. 

Energy systems are no less of a matter of survival for the Russian economy, which stays afloat 

largely due to petroleum exports. For these reasons, the impacts of climate change on Russian 

energy systems are of exceptionally great importance. 

The seasonality and geographical scope of climate change across Russia have significant 

implications for Russian changing energy demand between now and 2030. As is mentioned above, 

mean temperature increase in Russia by 2030 is projected to be significant nationwide, although 

more pronounced in the north and east of the country than in the south and west, and more 

pronounced in winter and spring than in the summer or fall.lix 

As shown in Figure 4, the projected climate warming is expected to lead to a reduction in the 

length and intensity of the heating season, which has the potential to result in reduced energy 

consumption for heating. Roshydromet projects that on average, by 2015, the heating season will 

be three to five days shorter across the entire country.lx In the eastern regions of Primorskiy Kray, 

Sakhalin, and Kamchatka, the heating season may be more than five days shorter by 2015. Some 

regions may experience little if any reduction in the length of the heating season. These trends are 

projected to extend and intensify by 2030 and beyond. 
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Figure 4. Reduction in duration of the heating season. Legend: Zone 1 shows reduction of the 

length of the heating season by 0.0-1.9 percent, Zone 2 -- 2.0-3.9 percent, Zone 3 -- 4.0-5.9 

percent, Zone 4 -- 6.0-7.9 percent, Zone 5 -- 8.0-10.0 percent. Source: Federal Service for 

Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Assessment Report on 

Climate Change and its Consequences in Russian Federation” (Moscow, 2008). 

In areas that experience this change, residents and workers may experience greater indoor comfort, 

as heating systems and building envelopes will be better able to cope with the heating load. 

For those regions that do experience a reduction, the extent of the related energy savings is a 

matter of some debate, even in official Russian government projections. According to analysis 

presented in 2005 and 2008 by the Russian Federal Service on Hydrometeorology (Roshydromet), 

the reduction in heating days resulting from a warmer climate may not translate into saved fuel. 

Even if there are fewer total heating days, they may stretch out over the same period of the 

year⎯or even longerlxi ⎯because of increased temperature variability.lxii 

This Roshydromet analysis contrasts with the Russian Federation’s Fourth National 

Communication under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was submitted 

in 2006. According to the Fourth National Communication, the reduction in heating requirements 

by 2025 will result in a net fuel savings of 5-10 percent nationwide (and greenhouse gas emissions 

reduction of 2 percent).lxiii If the latter projection proves accurate, the saved fuel could provide a 

significant economic benefit, and potentially a significant balance-of-payments benefit, provided 

that the saved fuel was exported instead of being consumed domestically. 

Just as a changing climate is expected to affect energy demand in Russia, so too will it affect 

energy supply. On the supply side of the ledger, the changing climate may affect hydroelectric 

power production, electricity transmission and distribution systems, and petroleum production and 

transportation systems. 
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Hydroelectric power production will realize some benefit, and some negative impacts, associated 

with the increase in flows of rivers that are used for hydroelectric production. As is true with the 

question of the length of the heating season, the net benefit or cost in 2020 remains ambiguous. 

Many of the major Russian rivers will experience increased water flows due to glacial melt and 

selective regional precipitation changes. For the most part, this change will offer opportunities for 

increased power production. According to Roshydromet, the Volga-Kamsk Cascade will 

experience a net increase of 10-20 percent in water flows. The reservoirs throughout the 

Northwest Federal District will experience a 5-10 percent increase, and the massive Siberian 

power dams along the Angarsk-Yenisey, Vilyu, Kolyma, and Zeya will experience increases 

ranging as high as 15 percent. In addition, certain hydro-electric reservoirs in the southern part of 

the country will experience reductions in productivity due to reduced water flow. Nonetheless, 

operating regimes for all power dams will require review in light of anticipated climate change, 

according to Roshydromet. In addition, there will be increased challenges related to managing 

head and tail waters in the face of increased flows, and particularly in relation to increased 

incidence of extreme downpours.lxiv 

Another energy supply-related impact from climate change to 2030 will relate to electricity 

transmission systems. One form of the heightened risk to power transmission will come from 

permafrost melt and the resulting creation of thermokarst and other unstable soil conditions. Highvoltage power lines will be one of the many kinds of structures that will be susceptible to damage 

as upper soil layers thaw and re-freeze. One particularly vulnerable transmission system will be 

the lines serving the Bilibino nuclear power plant on the Arctic coast and running from the town of 

Chersk to Pevek. 

Another heightened risk for power transmission systems will be increased wind load on power 

stanchions, as on other large structures. Power lines in the North Caucasus, as well as in the 

regions of Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Leningrad, portions of Sakha (Yakutia), Irkutsk, Magadan, 

Khantiy-Mansiysk, and Evenkia will be exposed to 20 percent increases in wind force and may 

need to be reconstructed or reinforced as a consequence.lxv 

Climate change by 2030 appears unlikely to sufficiently affect the Russian electric power sector as 

to lead to significant national security implications for the Russians. However, major power 

system failures could lead to serious human hardship and could therefore conceivably fuel political 

dissatisfaction in Russia. If a major portion of one of Russia’s regional power grids were 

destabilized by the failure of a major power dam, or if power supply lines failed due to unusually 

abrupt winds in the North Caucasus, for example, one could envision the potential for localized 

instability. 

If the hydropower and power transmission industries face challenges as climate change intensifies, 

even greater challenges face the petroleum industry, with likely greater significance for the 

Russian economy and state. In today’s Russia, oil and gas are the predominant components of 

economic performance. Together they represent on the order of 60 percent of total exports and 

one-third or more of state revenues.lxvi Russia learned, starting in late 2008, that its economy was 

therefore at risk of significant volatility in case of a downturn in global energy prices, and 

diversifying the economy away from extractive industries is a stated goal of the Russian 

government. However, for the foreseeable future, the core of Russia’s economy will remain oil 

and gas.lxvii 
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This in turn means that Russia’s economy is highly vulnerable to climate change impacts that 

affect the current or future operations of the petroleum sector. Many areas that are currently the 

focus of exploration and production activity will be more difficult to exploit. Pipeline and rail 

transportation systems that cross major rivers and permafrost will be subjected to unprecedented 

stresses and strains, many of which were not anticipated when initial design parameters were 

established. Critical new upstream development areas, such as the Yamal Peninsula, will be more 

complicated to reach by land and harder to develop in the face of thawing permafrost and shorter 

winter seasons. 

The Russian petroleum industry has traditionally centered in West Siberia and the Volga region, 

with transportation links extending to European portions of Russia and then to western and central 

European markets. The Russian gas industry has centered on three super-giant fields in the 

Nadym-Pur-Taz region—the Urengoy, Yamburg, and Medvezh’ye fields. At present, in addition 

to thousands of producing oil and gas wells, Russia has roughly 50,000 kilometers of oil pipelines 

and roughly 150,000 kilometers of gas pipelines, most of which were constructed in the 1980s 

under Soviet rule. There are also scores of processing plants and refineries distributed across 

Russia’s massive territory.lxviii (See Figure 5 for a map of existing and planned pipelines and gas 

production regions.) 

The core climate-related vulnerability facing oil and gas pipeline systems is that these systems 

were designed and built with the presumption of a stable climate. The thousands of river crossings 

did not provide margins of error to accommodate the increased water flow that will result from 

climate change by 2030. They were not constructed using horizontal directional drilling 

techniques that allow deeper and more secure passage under riverbeds. Underwater river crossings 

in several key producing and transit regions are thought to be particularly at risk—the upper and 

lower Volga and its tributaries in the regions of Nizhegorodskaya, Orenburg, Perm, Samara, 

Saratov, Ulyanovsk, Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, Tyumen, Novosibirsk, and Sakhalin among 

others.lxix 

In addition to climate-related risks for river crossings, oil and gas pipelines and other facilities are 

at risk in permafrost regions. In these areas, pipelines and other structures are typically 

constructed above ground to allow thermal insulation to avoid thawing the soil. In the period to 

2030, however, these regions will experience deeper seasonal thawing, resulting in structural 

subsidence and weakened integrity of pipelines and other petroleum-industry installations. 

The permafrost zones are also exceptionally important for the future development of oil and 

especially gas production. Russian gas production has been the basis of not only Russian export 

earnings but also Russia’s controversial, growing politico-economic power vis-à-vis central and 

western European neighbors, as was demonstrated again in early 2009 during the RussianUkrainian gas crisis. 

Maintaining Russian gas exports is therefore a matter of highest national priority. There has been 

a dramatic decline of production at the Urengoy, Yamburg, and Medvezh’ye fields that have been 

the core of Russian gas production since the end of the Soviet period.lxx New production is crucial 

for Gazprom to realize its production targets and satisfy both domestic requirements and export 

consumers in coming years.lxxi 
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Three of the key areas that the Russians expect to produce new gas will keenly feel the 

effects of a changing climate by 2030. First, the Yamal peninsula is an Arctic region that 

is a vast wealth of untapped gas prospects. According to some Gazprom projections, it 

could account for as much as 200 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas production per year 

by 2020, and 360 bcm per year by 2030.lxxii However, developing Yamal will be 

significantly complicated by a changing climate. Supplies that will need to be brought in 

by land will require the construction of new roads and rail links, which will be tricky with 

the growth of thermokarst. Previous techniques, like the use of seasonal ice roads will be 

more problematic due to the shorter cold season. New above-ground pipelines and other 

elevated installations will have to be constructed using deeper foundations to avoid 

structural damage from subsidence. 

A second key area for new Russian gas production is the Barents Sea. Here, one massive 

new field called Shtokman is to be developed some 550 kilometers north of the Kola 

Peninsula, with a projected annual production of around 90 bcm of gas.lxxiii This hugely 

challenging technical undertaking, which will require the construction of ice-capable 

production platforms in more than 300 meters of water, is especially difficult because it is 

so far offshore that it is beyond the range of helicopters, yet it is vulnerable to seasonal 

pack ice and vicious storms. In the face of a rapidly changing Arctic climate, vessels 

traveling to Shtokman will have to navigate increasingly severe waters and endure bitter 

winter storms. 

A third key projected area for the Russian gas industry is Eastern Siberia and the Russian 

Far East. Here too, climate change in the period to 2030 will pose increasing 

complications—melting permafrost, swollen rivers, more frequent and severe storms and 

more prevalent incidence of traditionally atypical forms of disease. As mentioned above, 

the Russian gas industry has traditionally been oriented toward customers within Russia 

and in neighboring European countries. However, in the past decade, Gazprom and the 

Russian government have identified the goal of moving to the East and developing gas 

resources that can feed to the Pacific Rim. The official Eastern Gas Program released in 

August 2007 projects total extraction of 100 bcm/year by 2030.lxxiv New fields are being 

developed in the Sea of Okhotsk, near Sakhalin Island. Other prospects are being 

pursued as far west as the area to the north of Lake Baikal (e.g., the Kovykta field) and in 

the Sakha Republic (Yakutia). All of these projects will require major new construction 

with countless major and minor river crossings and a significant number of permafrost 

operations. This development will therefore be vulnerable to the same kinds of 

challenges from climate impacts as have been discussed above. 

Food Production and Drinking Water Supply 

Russia will experience a mix of positive and negative impacts on food and water supply 

in the period to 2030. The net impacts in these important areas will depend heavily on 

the extent to which adaptation measures can be implemented in an affordable and timely 

manner, but doing so will be difficult. 

Experts project that Russia will experience an increase in total water supply in the period 

to 2030. According to Roshydromet, in the aggregate Russia will experience an 8-10 

percent increase in water volume by 2015⎯the equivalent of a 12-14 percent increase per 

capita⎯with these trends expected to continue in the years that follow. 
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That said, different regions will experience significantly different changes in their 

respective water supply. The northern and northwestern portions of European Russia, as 

well as the central Volga, many of the non-Chernozem lands, the Urals, and the Russian 

Far East will experience increasing water availability. In the dams along the VolgaKamsk Cascade, water flows are projected to increase by 10-20 percent by 2015, as 

mentioned above. In the Northwest federal district, dams will see a 5-10 percent increase 

over the same period. And some of the key Siberian rivers systems⎯the AngarskYenisey, the Vilyu, the Kolyma, and the Zeya⎯will experience flow increases by up to 

15 percent.lxxv 

On the other hand, many other parts of Russia will experience worsening water shortages, 

including densely populated industrial regions that are projected to experience increases 

in water demand of 5-25 percent.lxxvi In the Chernozem lands, these water-poor areas will 

include the Belgorod, Voronezh, Kursk, Lipetsk, Orel, and Tambov regions. In the south, 

Kalmykia, Krasnodar, Stavropol, and Rostov regions will face increasingly challenging 

water situations, with reductions in water supply on the order of 5-15 percent.lxxvii In 

southwestern Siberia, the list will include Altay, Kemerovo, Novosibirsk, Omsk, and 

Tomsk. Across a key southern belt, a whole host of Russian regions will face mounting, 

and serious, water problems. Included in this list will be both certain key agricultural 

lands (more on food supply below), and also a number of key industrial regions. Even 

the capital and the Moscow Oblast’ will face “particularly acute” water supply 

problems.lxxviii 

Regarding food supply, the longstanding popular presumption in Russia has been that a 

warmer global climate would translate into a significantly more hospitable Russian 

environment for agricultural production. Indeed, there are several respects in which 

climate change by 2030 will reduce longstanding challenges for Russian agriculture. 

First and foremost, growing seasons have already become longer and are predicted to 

become longer still.lxxix 

Accompanying this change will be a reduction in the frequency of winter temperatures 

that are sufficiently bitter to damage winter plantings. More sensitive varieties of winter 

plantings will be possible in much of Russia by 2030, and it will be possible to plant 

existing varieties farther north than would have been the case in the past.lxxx For 

example, it will be possible to plant longer-ripening grains and late-ripening sugar beets 

as far north as Moscow.lxxxi Interestingly, the longer growing seasons will not be 

accompanied by an increased frost-free period except in the Northwestern, Central, and 

Volga federal districts.lxxxii 

Based on temperature ranges expected by 2030, it will also be possible to introduce 

entirely new crops that are not widely grown in Russia today. For example, the projected 

temperature of the north Caucasus and the lower Volga will be well suited to intensive 

agriculture for crops that are typically found in Central Asia and the south Caucasus at 

present⎯crops such as cotton, grapes, tea, citrus, and other fruits and vegetables.lxxxiii 

A key question, however, is whether the longer growing seasons and the warmer Russian 

agricultural lands will result in increased yields. In fact, this does not appear to be 

assured—at least not based on the crops that are currently raised. Many of the current 

“bread basket” areas of Russia⎯including the Black Earth or Chernozem lands, the 
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lower Volga region, and the southern part of Siberia⎯will experience reductions in grain 

yields resulting from reduced precipitation⎯reductions in yields of more than 22 percent 

by 2020. Warmer average temperatures will produce better grain yields in some parts of 

the country that have not traditionally served as the heartland for grain production. 

Regions such as the Northwest and Central federal districts and the Volga-Vyatsk region 

are expected to see a 10-15 percent increment in grain yields. Nationwide, according to 

Roshydromet, grain yields could shrink by more than 11 percent by 2020.lxxxiv 

Plant diseases and pests will become a more serious challenge in many parts of Russia. 

In the southern part of European Russia and in western Siberia, locusts are expected to be 

increasingly common. Already they are found more frequently than was the case two or 

three decades ago, and they are expected to be even more prevalent in the future in the 

Stavropol, Kalmykia, Volgograd, Astrakhan, Saratov, and Rostov regions, and in some 

parts of southern Siberia.lxxxv In northwestern Russia, farmers are experiencing an 

infestation of Colorado potato beetles, which are now found in Karelia. In coming years, 

as mild winters become increasingly common, they are expected to spread into southern 

parts of the Arkhangelsk region and the Komi Republic.lxxxvi 

A third question that arises about future agriculture is whether human management and 

distribution systems, and rural society itself, will be able to adapt in a timely manner to 

manage new crops, new supply chains, and requirements. Indeed, rural Russia has 

typically been resistant to change. In addition, supply, distribution, and management 

issues have historically posed great hurdles for Russian agriculture. A key question will 

be whether a true national market for food and agricultural products develops, or whether 

Russian regions persist in semi-national, semi-intra-region forms of agricultural 

trade.lxxxvii 

Additional challenges for agriculture by 2030 will come from the increased frequency of 

severe weather events. Periods of drought in key agricultural regions are expected to be 

50-100 percent more frequent by 2015, with the trend line continuing thereafter.lxxxviii 

By 2030, Russia will start to feel the impacts of climate change in relation to both water 

and food supply. To maintain stable food supply, significant changes will be required in 

terms of varieties that are planted, the lands that are used for agriculture, and the extent 

and intensity of pesticide and irrigation use. All of these solutions are theoretically 

possible, but none will come easily or inexpensively. All will test the ability of Russian 

authorities and Russian agriculture to adapt quickly as climate change impacts are felt. 

Transportation Systems 

Transportation systems are another aspect of Russia’s socioeconomic life that will 

experience major impacts from climate change by 2030. For the most part, these impacts 

will entail the need for significant adaptations, which will imply significant capital 

requirements. This will be true for Russia’s extensive rail networks as well as its more 

limited road networks. However, in relation to river transportation and especially Far 

North maritime transport, a changing climate will open new and likely beneficial 

possibilities. 

Russia’s railways are the backbone of its goods and passenger transportation system, with 

over 87,000 kilometers of railroads stretching across most of the country.lxxxix The 
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system is a state-owned monopoly that moves 1.3 billion passengers and 1.3 billion tons 

of freight annually, which represents 83 percent of all freight in Russia (not counting 

petroleum pipeline operations).xc The rail system is most highly developed in the 

European part of Russia and along the southern reaches of Siberia. Nonetheless, a 

significant portion of the rail system⎯such as the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM)⎯cross 

permafrost zones, so they will be subject to the same risks of subsidence and structural 

weakening from permafrost melt as well as increased vulnerability at river crossings from 

increased Siberian river flows, as discussed above. 

Russia’s road transport systems are much less significant for cross-country transportation, 

but they too will be affected by climate change. Some of the impacts may be positive, in 

that reduced winter snowpack in European Russia (where the road system is much more 

developed and much more used than in the Arctic or the Far East) may reduce road 

hazards and wear and tear on existing roads. Other impacts will be negative, however. 

The increase in weather variability, with elevated risks of severe storms and downpours, 

may lead to elevated dangers for road transportation and risks of mudslides and erosion in 

mountainous areas and near rivers and floodplains. In the Far North and Far East, where 

wintertime ice roads have been a means of wintertime survival, shorter cold seasons will 

result in significantly reduced road transport capacity.xci 

River transport, which is another key element of Russia’s total transportation system, will 

experience both new problems and benefits from climate change to 2030, varying by 

region. In areas such as the Don River Basin in Russia’s southwest, where there will be a 

reduction in total water flow, river navigation may encounter serious challenges. 

Extensive, and expensive, dredging may be required to allow continued barge and river 

freighter traffic. 

In other areas, where river flows will significantly increase, such as along the major 

Siberian river systems and in the northwest of the country, river transport may be 

enhanced and facilitated. The exception to this rule may occur in areas where the earlier 

arrival of spring weather and the more pronounced melt-off of winter snow and ice lead 

to river ice jams and flooding.xcii 

Another potentially significant transportation impact from climate change is the increased 

possibility of sea passage through Arctic waters. The so-called Northern Sea Route 

(NSR) that runs from near the island of Novaya Zemlya to the Bering Strait offers the 

prospect of up to a 40 percent savings in sea distance for journeys between northern 

Europe and Pacific Rim ports in either North America or northeastern Asia.xciii By 2020, 

the navigation season along the NSR will increase from around 36 days at present to 

around 40 days per summer.xciv Furthermore, the reduction in the extent of Arctic ice will 

allow vessels to travel in deeper waters farther from shore. Nonetheless, Arctic Sea 

shipping will not be without its share of challenges. Icebergs will continue to pose 

hazards to navigation, and bitter storms may produce significant wave action. 

Human Health 

Climate change may present Russia with a host of new and unwelcome challenges by 

2030—both in the form of dangers related directly to climate and in the form of pestborne disease. 
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In the case of direct effects, the combination of more frequent droughts and heat waves 

has had an impact on vulnerable populations in Russia already.xcv By 2030, as extreme 

weather events become more prevalent, this kind of increased risk to human health will 

rise further, particularly affecting the aged and infirm, especially for those unable to 

afford residential air conditioning. 

Historically, Russia’s bitter winters served as a check on the populations of many 

disease-carrying pests. Rodent populations, mosquitoes, and ticks were limited by the 

rigor of the seasons. 

In recent years, however, these historical factors have receded. For example, according 

to one report, Russia’s current rodent population is ten times higher than historical norms. 

Worse yet, one-third of the rodent population is estimated to carry one of the viruses that 

cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (or HFRS), which is a deadly illness if not 

caught early in its course.xcvi Incidences of HFRS spike after each occurrence of an 

unusually mild Russian winter. 

As in other northern countries, mosquitoes have always been a summertime challenge in 

Russia. (Due to the poor quality of the housing stock, mosquitoes were often an 

unexpected wintertime challenge too; they would live through the winter in standing 

water in Russian basements, as many Western students and diplomats experienced.) But 

by 2030, they are expected to pose an increasing public health threat. As may as 250,000 

Russians suffer from latent, local forms of malaria. West Nile and Denge Fever are 

reported to be spreading across the country as well.xcvii 

Ticks are another disease vector that will grow worse by 2030. Tick encephalitis, Lyme 

disease, and tick rickettsiosis (Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever) are three of the diseases 

that are spreading increasingly aggressively across Russia. 

Intestinal diseases are also a risk for Russia in the period to 2030. This risk will be 

especially significant in southern European Russia and the northern Caucasus region, 

where fresh water supply and water quality are expected to deteriorate as a result of 

climate change.xcviii However, even in distant Yakutia, in 2002, early spring flooding, 

which will also be increasingly common in Siberia by 2030, triggered a massive outbreak 

of enteric fever.xcix 

Coping Capabilities in Facing Natural Disasters 

Russia is better equipped than many other countries to respond to disasters resulting from 

climate change, certainly much better equipped than most of its regional neighbors. The 

central entity involved in governmental response to natural and manmade disasters is the 

Russian Federation Ministry of Civil Defense, Emergency Situations, and Disaster 

Response (known in Russia by the shorthand “Ministry of Emergency Situations,” and 

often referred to in the West as “Emercom”). This organization brings together many of 

the functions that fall under the US Department of Homeland Security, including the 

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Coast Guard, as well as local 

fire departments all across the country.c

 It is a proud, well-recognized organization that 

has earned public respect for its involvement in responding to a number of tragic 

occurrences in recent years. 
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Of particular significance for response to climate change impacts will be the Ministry’s 

units with responsibility for forest fire prevention and response, maritime emergencies, 

flood protection and response, and search and rescue. The Ministry is Moscow-based but 

has regional centers across Russia, including several in southern Siberia that could be 

especially important in ensuring timely response to climate change-related disasters. 

Another important component of Russia’s coping capacity comes from the Russian 

Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet or 

Hydromet). Hydromet is the rough equivalent of the US National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and is active in monitoring, assessment, analysis, 

and prediction of weather and climate. Hydromet operates the Russian weather service, 

including over 1,600 meteorological stations across Russia,ci as well as serving as the 

leading scientific organization and the lead Russian representative for international 

negotiations and scientific undertakings related to climate change. Its research institutes 

work in close collaboration with institutes under the Russian Academy of Sciences, as 

well as leading Russian participation in the IPCC and other scientific assessment and 

forecasting activities. 

Despite the considerable capabilities of both of these governmental organizations to 

analyze and respond to natural disasters, Russia will face a number of challenges in this 

context. Effective adaptation to climate change will require the application of huge 

resources and, more difficult, careful policy reforms. For example, policymakers will 

have to decide what to do with the residents of Russia’s outsized northern urban centers. 

These Arctic cities are a monument to the sensibilities of Soviet planners—and an 

economic disaster.cii Thawing permafrost will pose more problems for these cities, and 

many of these cities sit on or near the banks of the Siberian rivers that will experience 

significant increases in flows and increased risks of flooding. Yet mass relocation would 

be both costly and politically challenging. 

Other Urban Infrastructure 

In the period to 2030, climate change could have a variety of impacts on urban 

infrastructure in Russia. Some of these impacts have already been discussed above, such 

as the potential for a reduction in heating requirements and heating loads that could 

accompany an increase in wintertime temperatures. 

Another broad category of impact—but a negative one—is projected sea-level rise. This 

impact has the potential to bring significant challenges to a host of Russian cities and port 

complexes. Particularly vulnerable is Russia’s second city, St. Petersburg, which is 

already regularly at risk of flooding when strong winds blow to the east from the Gulf of 

Finland. This vulnerability will only rise as sea level rises and storm surges grow more 

intense.ciii The risks of catastrophic flooding in St. Petersburg before 2030, and of 

consequent damage to both the economy and to unique historical buildings, is great. 

St. Petersburg is not the only city at risk. The level of the Black Sea has been rising since 

the 1920s, and the rate of rise has increased significantly since the 1980s (currently about 

2 centimeters per year).civ This will affect Russia’s main warm water port complex at 

Novorossiysk, where dry cargoes, crude oil, and refined petroleum products are all 

exported. It will also affect Russia’s main Black Sea military base, which is at 

Sevastopol, in neighboring Ukraine. Outside the Black Sea area, Russia’s vital 
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deepwater Atlantic basin port at Murmansk, which comprises both military and civilian 

capacity, will also be at risk to rising sea levels, as will the Pacific Rim ports, including 

Vladivostok and others. 

As a general matter, Russia’s population is projected to experience significant risks in the 

period to 2030 and beyond from extreme weather events—floods, torrential rains, severe 

winds, tornados, hurricanes, and the like. Officially designated dangerous 

hydrometeorological events across all of Russia have been growing markedly more 

common for the past decade-plus.cv This trend is expected to continue to 2030 and 

afterward. Russia’s major urban centers may experience periods of drought combined 

with heat waves. In such circumstances, the risks of heat-related or disease-related 

illness could rise significantly. 

International Issues 

The international treatment of the Arctic over the next 20 or so years and questions of 

immigration related to climate change will affect Russia. 

Greenhouse warming may bring greater changes in the Arctic than anywhere else on the 

planet. As has been discussed above, pronounced warming is already eroding the polar 

ice cap, and the thermal qualities of open water are contributing in turn to further 

warming and further melt-off. 

This all translates into the Arctic being a much less imposing and more hospitable place 

than it has been in the past. Summers will bring increasingly extensive open seas that 

will facilitate speedy sea transportation of goods between northern Europe and the Pacific 

coasts of North America and northeastern Asia.cvi (See transportation discussion above.) 

New ports are being built along the Russian Arctic coast. 

In addition, the warmer Arctic is engendering increased interest on the part of all of the 

littoral states in off-shore development. In 2007, the Russian polar scientist and 

politician Artur Chilingarov led an undersea expedition intended to bolster Russian 

claims that the Arctic is predominantly within the exclusive economic zone of Russia. 

One of Chilingarov’s key arguments is that the undersea Lomonosov Ridge extends from 

Russian territory and therefore validates Russia’s claim to half of Arctic Ocean. 

Complicating matters further, there is no clear agreement as to the legal regime that 

should govern competing claims in the Arctic.cvii Chilingarov’s expedition culminated 

with the depositing of a Russian flag on the sea bottom, some 2.5 miles below the 

surface. “The Arctic has special geopolitical importance for Russia,” Chilingarov later 

said.cviii 

Given that Russia is not alone in its strong economic and security interests in the Arctic, 

climate changes that affect the Arctic could prompt the development of new military 

bases and activity. In late January 2009, military and political leaders from NATO met in 

Reykjavik, Iceland, to discuss how to manage the opportunities and challenges posed by 

a warming Arctic. The Secretary-General of NATO, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, told the 

assembled audience, “Climate change is not a fanciful idea. It is already a reality, a 

reality that brings with it certain new challenges, including for NATO. Several Arctic 

rim countries are strengthening their capabilities, and military activity in the High North 

region has been steadily increasing.”cix It is thus possible to imagine a significant 
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increase in military presence in the Arctic, beyond what has been the case since the end 

of the Cold War. 

Another international issue facing Russia is climate-related migration. Already today, 

Russia is the world’s second biggest destination for migration (after the United States), 

attracting an estimated seven million migrants in 2008, of whom only about four million 

were legal.cx At present, most migrants present in Russia are from the countries of 

Central Asia and the Caucasus, and they seek economic opportunity to help support 

families in their countries of origin. Many migrants are involved in construction, other 

manual labor, and trading, especially in foodstuffs. In the Russian Far East and 

Primorskiy Kray, there are also a significant number of temporary workers from 

northeastern China. In short, today’s migration to Russia seems to be significantly 

motivated by the “pull” phenomenon of economic opportunity. 

By 2030, migration may become more of a “push” phenomenon. Water availability is 

projected to become an increasingly serious challenge in Central Asia, Mongolia, and 

northeastern China, and simultaneously droughts are projected to become more frequent. 

Glacial-fed rivers are at risk of becoming more and more depleted by 2030.cxi The ability 

of the Central Asian states to adapt to a changing climate may well be more limited than 

is the case with Russia. In turn, migration may become a source of instability within 

Russia, especially in difficult economic times. Already today, nationalist and reactionary 

political and social groupings are committing increasing numbers of hate crimes in 

Russian cities and towns. A Moscow-based nongovernmental organization that monitors 

hate crimes recorded over 500 attacks against foreigners in 2008, a one-third increase 

over 2007.cxii 

Adaptive Capacity 

The impacts of climate change will be felt differentially, depending upon how well a 

society can cope with or adapt to climate change, that is, its adaptive capacity. Adaptive 

capacity is defined by the IPCC as “The ability of a system to adjust to climate change 

(including climate variability and extremes) to moderate potential damages, to take 

advantage of opportunities, or to cope with the consequences.”cxiii Although the specific 

determinants (or “drivers”) of adaptive capacity are a matter of debate among 

researchers, there is good agreement that economic, human, and environmental resources 

are essential elements. Some components of this adaptive capacity are near term, such as 

the ability to deliver aid swiftly to those affected by, e.g., flooding or droughts. Other 

components include a high enough level of education so that people can change 

livelihoods, sufficient unmanaged land that can be brought into food production, and 

institutions that provide knowledge and assistance in times of change. For instance, 

Yohe and Tolcxiv identified eight qualitative “determinants of adaptive capacity,” many of 

which are societal in character, although the scientists draw on an economic vocabulary 

and framing: 

1. The range of available technological options for adaptation. 

2. The availability of resources and their distribution across the population. 

3. The structure of critical institutions, the derivative allocation of decision-making 

authority, and the decision criteria that would be employed. 
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4. The stock of human capital, including education and personal security. 

5. The stock of social capital, including the definition of property rights. 

6. The system’s access to risk-spreading processes. 

7. The ability of decision-makers to manage information, the processes by which 

these decision-makers determine which information is credible, and the credibility 

of the decision-makers themselves. 

8. The public’s perceived attribution of the source of stress and the significance of 

exposure to its local manifestations. 

Russian Adaptive Capacity in a Global Context 

Researchers have only recently taken on the challenge of assessing adaptive capacity in a 

comparative, quantitative framework. A comprehensive global comparative studycxv of 

resilience to climate change (including adaptive capacity) was conducted using the 

Vulnerability-Resilience Indicators Model (VRIM—see box below). 

Adaptive capacity, as assessed in this study, consists of seven variables (in three sectors), 

chosen to represent societal characteristics important to a country’s ability to cope with 

and adapt to climate change: 

Human and Civic Resources 

• Dependency ratio: proxy for social and economic resources available for adaptation 

after meeting basic needs.

• Literacy: proxy for human capital generally, especially the ability to adapt by 

changing employment. 

Economic Capacity 

• GDP (market) per capita: proxy for economic well-being in general, especially 

access to markets, technology, and other resources useful for adaptation. 

• Income equity: proxy for the potential of all people in a country or state to participate 

in the economic benefits available. 

Environmental Capacity 

• Percent of land that is unmanaged: proxy for potential for economic use or increased 

crop productivity and for ecosystem health (e.g., ability of plants and animals to 

migrate under climate change). 

• Sulfur dioxide per unit land area: proxy for air quality and, through sulfur 

deposition, other stresses on ecosystems. 

• Population density: proxy for population pressures on ecosystems (e.g., adequate 

food production for a given population). 

Adaptive capacity for a sample of 10 countries from the 160-country study is shown in 

Figure 6 (base year of 2005). There is a wide range of adaptive capacity represented by 

these countries. Russia ranks high, both in the sample and overall: 

• Russia ranks 32nd and Libya 34th (in the highest quartile). 
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• Indonesia ranks 45th, Belize 48th, Mexico 59th, and China 75th (in the second quartile). 

• The Philippines ranks 91st and India 119th (in the third quartile). 

• Morocco ranks 136th and Haiti 156th (in the lowest quartile). 

Any country-level analysis must take into account the comparative ranking of the 

country. 

Methodological Description of the Vulnerability-Resilience Indicator Model (VRIM) 

The VRIM is a hierarchical model with four levels. The vulnerability index (level 1) is 

derived from two indicators (level 2): sensitivity (how systems could be negatively 

affected by climate change) and adaptive capacity (the capability of a society to maintain, 

minimize loss of, or maximize gains in welfare). Sensitivity and adaptive capacity, in 

turn, are composed of sectors (level 3). For adaptive capacity these sectors are human 

resources, economic capacity, and environmental capacity. For sensitivity, the sectors 

are settlement/infrastructure, food security, ecosystems, human health, and water 

resources. Each of these sectors is composed of one to three proxies (level 4). The 

proxies under adaptive capacity are as follows: human resource proxies are the 

dependency ratio and literacy rate; economic capacity proxies are GDP (market) per 

capita and income equity; and environmental capacity proxies are population density, 

sulfur dioxide divided by state area, and percent of unmanaged land. Proxies in the 

sensitivity sectors are water availability, fertilizer use per agricultural land area, percent 

of managed land, life expectancy, birth rate, protein demand, cereal production per 

agricultural land area, sanitation access, access to safe drinking water, and population at 

risk due to sea level rise. 

Each of the hierarchical level values is composed of the geometric means of participating 

values. Proxy values are indexed by determining their location within the range of proxy 

values over all countries or states. The final calculation of resilience is the geometric 

mean of the adaptive capacity and sensitivity. 
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Figure 6. Sample of 10 countries’ rankings of adaptive capacity (2005). 

Figure 7 shows the contribution of each variable to the overall ranking (slight differences 

occurring because of the methodology [see box]). In current adaptive capacity, Russia 

ranks first among the 10 countries shown in Figure 6. Russia's comparatively high 

literacy levels (indicating higher human capital), low greenhouse gas emissions, and low 

population density (indicating a less of a burden on the environment) more than 

compensate for low GDP per capita. This corresponds roughly with the pattern that one 

Figure 7. Variables’ contributions to adaptive capacity rankings. 

Aspects of Adaptive Capacity in Base Year

0 200 400 600

Haiti

Morocco

India

Philippines

China

Mexico

Belize

Indonesia

Libya

Russian Federation

GDP per capita

equity index

dependency ratio

literacy levels

non-managed land (%)

emssions/total land

population density

Ranking of Adaptive Capacity in Base Year 

0 20 40 60 80 100

Haiti

Morocco

India

Philippines

China

Mexico

Belize

Indonesia

Libya

Russian Federation
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would expect for Russia. Russia has some significant areas of vulnerability, but it also 

stands to see some beneficial impacts from climate change. It has a well-educated 

populace, an economy that has some diversification but not a great deal, and a 

socioeconomic picture in which there is a small middle class, a small cluster of people 

with great wealth, and many who have only limited means. 

Figure 8 shows projected adaptive capacity growth over time for the 10-country sample. 

Projections are made for two scenarios; rates of growth are based on the IPCC’s A1 

scenario in its Special Report on Emissions Scenarios.

cxvi VRIM simulates two different 

hypothetical development tracks out to the year 2065 (well beyond the timescale of the 

present study) with intermediate results at 15-year time steps. These alternative 

development tracks are not intended to be predictive; they are scenarios. 

Both scenarios feature moderate population growth and a tendency toward convergence 

in affluence (with market-based solutions, rapid technological progress, and improving 

human welfare). The scenarios used in this study differ in the rate of economic growth, 

one modeling high-and-fast economic growth, the other delayed growth. 

Over time, a low-growth scenario widens the gap among the 10 countries—and the highgrowth scenario widens the gap even more (Figure 8). In both scenarios, China's high 

economic growth (indicated by GDP per capita), favorable dependency ratio, and literacy 

rate allow that country to overtake Russia by 2050. In both scenarios, the strengths and 

weaknesses of current Russian adaptive capacity persist, with slow economic growth 

being a notable weakness. 

Looking forward, Russia’s ability to cope with climate change impacts to 2030 and 

beyond will obviously depend on both the nature and extent of the impacts and the extent 

to which Russia’s adaptive capacities develop over time. This in turn depends on the 

nature and extent of Russia’s socioeconomic and sociopolitical development over the 

coming years. 

In the delayed-growth scenario, Russia’s position is much less influenced by wealth 

accumulation (adaptive capacity) and much more heavily influenced by water 

availability, the production of cereal grains, and the use of fertilizer (included in 

impacts/sensitivity rather than in adaptive capacity). In this scenario, Russia’s adaptive 

capacity still improves over time, but its progress, like that of other countries, is much 

more modest than in the high-growth scenario. 

The high-growth scenario could, in the case of Russia, be consistent with robust earlyperiod revenues from hydrocarbons and other commodity production, leading to 

significant wealth accumulation in the country and, over time, greater economic 

diversification of the sort that has been advocated in the last year by President Dmitriy 

Medvedev. (The elements and implications of this high-growth scenario are outwardly 

consistent with the track that Russia appeared to be on until the collapse of energy prices 

in the past six months.) In this scenario, Russia’s adaptive capacity grows significantly 

over time, with Russia ending the period second only to China. 
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Figure 8. Projections of adaptive capacity for 10 countries. 

Adaptive Capacity in the Delayed Growth Scenario

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

110

1990 2005 2020 2035 2050 2065

Russian Federation

Libya

Indonesia

Belize

Mexico

China

Philippines

India

Morocco

Haiti

Adaptive Capacity in the High Growth Scenario

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

110

1990 2005 2020 2035 2050 2065

Russian Federation

Libya

Indonesia

Belize

Mexico

China

Philippines

India

Morocco

Haiti
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In the real world, a variety of factors will play into the overall calculus of Russia’s 

adaptive capacity. Evolving socioeconomic conditions will be one key factor. To 

highlight this fact, one can compare the adaptation of the Russian oil industry to the 

adaption of its gas industry in the period since the breakup of the USSR. In the late 

1990s and the first years of the current decade, the Russian oil industry experienced rapid 

innovation that reflected new ownership forms, new managerial techniques, and the 

introduction of international technology. Production skyrocketed, especially after the 

1998 financial crash, while environmental impacts for the oil industry as a whole (spills, 

emissions, and accidents) dropped. By comparison, the relatively traditionalist Russian 

gas industry, where there was substantially less commercial, managerial, and 

technological change, evolved less dramatically. 

In the area of Russian agriculture, socioeconomic forms and institutions most likely will 

be significant in determining the efficacy of the sector’s adaptation to climate change.cxvii 

One particular shortcoming will be the relative weakness of agricultural education and 

training, akin to the extension service programs operated by the US Department of 

Agriculture. Russia’s rural population is generally the country’s most conservative social 

grouping; adapting to changing climatic conditions will require innovation that has 

historically been alien to much of rural Russian society. 

Strengths/Weaknesses in Adaptive Capacity Assessments 

Even comparative measures of adaptive capacity only allow analysts to ask better focused 

questions about area or local conditions that contribute to or reduce resilience. It is 

likely, for instance, that for particular places in Russia important variables or domains are 

not included. For agricultural regions, this might include the extent of irrigation; for 

urban areas, better measures of education could be important. The measure of 

unmanaged land does not account for the potential usefulness of that land. 

However, comparative measures such as these can be an important first step toward 

determining where to direct resources—for further analysis or additional factors. 
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Conclusions: High Risk Impacts 

Energy. Russia’s current and foreseeable future economic health depends extremely 

heavily on Russia’s ability to produce and export oil and natural gas. The oil and gas 

infrastructure that exists today was not designed with an eye to vulnerability stemming 

from a changing climate—such as structural subsidence, pipeline crossings at surging 

rivers, and sea-level rise. Therefore, current production will be increasingly at risk in the 

coming years. Moreover, as production from traditional Russian gas supply provinces 

declines, Russia must develop replacement sources. The Yamal Peninsula and Barents 

Sea (including the Shtokman field) are absolute priorities, and the Russian Far East is a 

secondary priority. The impacts of a changing climate may delay significantly (or 

significantly raise the cost of) efforts to bring these new production areas on-line, which 

could affect Russia’s fiscal position and balance of payments. 

Agriculture. By 2030, Russia will begin to experience significant changes in 

agriculture. The critical question will be whether the positive impacts – longer growing 

season, new land that can be put under the plow, and the possibility of introducing new 

varieties and new crops—will outweigh the significant negative impacts. In this latter 

regard, the reduction in precipitation in parts of Russia’s traditional agricultural belts and 

the projected reduction in yields for traditional grain crops are significant considerations. 

Also significant is the projected increasing reliance on irrigation and chemical additives 

to deter pests and enrich soils. Rural Russia historically has been a very traditionalist part 

of the country, and to date Russia has not developed widespread systems to educate 

farmers, particularly to help them anticipate and adapt to changes in their growing 

conditions stemming from climate change. There are risks that rural Russia simply will 

not adapt itself in a timely manner to the agricultural realities of a changing climate. 

Russia’s food supply could be under stress. 

Migration. Many of Russia’s southern neighbors face a drier, hotter future in which 

economic prospects may become increasingly dire. If these neighbors are unable to adapt 

themselves in a timely manner and provide for their populations, Russia may experience 

significant new migration pressures, which could plausibly be associated with greater 

instability and ethnic strife in affected Russian cities and towns. 

Accentuated Socio-Economic and Socio-Political Stresses. Russia is a massive 

country with a pronounced continental climate, thus extreme weather is not entirely 

unfamiliar. Nor is hardship unfamiliar to the people of Russia. Nonetheless, the 

significant increase in dangerous weather events over the last two decades, and the 

prospect of a continuing trend in this regard, make clear that extreme weather may be the 

sword of Damocles hanging over Russia’s future. Heat waves, wind storms, droughts, 

and severe flooding may result in considerable damage to infrastructure, impacts on 

livelihoods, and even significant loss of life. These threats, in turn, may place even 

greater socio-economic and socio-political stress on parts of the country where the 

relationship between the government and governed is already tense. Areas such as the 

North Caucasus have already seen political tensions and instability that are unrelated to 

climate change. By 2030, however, climate change could significantly exacerbate such 

areas of stress. 
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Annex A: Accuracy of Regional Models 

This is an excerpt from IPCC (2007), Chapter 11, Regional models; see IPCC 2007 for 

references.4 

11.4.2 Skill of Models in Simulating Present Climate 

Regional mean temperature and precipitation in the MMD models show biases when 

compared with observed climate (Table 2). The multi-model mean shows a cold and wet 

bias in all regions and in most seasons, and the bias of the annual average temperature 

ranges from –2.5°C over the Tibetan Plateau (TIB) to –1.4°C over South Asia (SAS). 

For most regions, there is a 6°C to 7°C range in the biases from individual models with a 

reduced bias range in Southeast Asia (SEA) of 3.6°C. The median bias in precipitation is 

small (less than 10 percent) in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Central Asia (CAS), 

larger in northern Asia and East Asia (NAS and EAS, around +23 percent), and very 

large in the Tibetan Plateau (+110 percent). Annual biases in individual models are in the 

range of –50 to +60 percent across all regions except the Tibetan Plateau, where some 

models simulate annual precipitation 2.5 times that observed and even larger seasonal 

biases occur in winter and spring. These global models clearly have significant problems 

over Tibet, due to the difficulty in simulating the effects of the dramatic topographic 

relief, as well as the distorted albedo feedbacks due to extensive snow cover. However, 

with only limited observations available, predominantly in valleys, large errors in 

temperature and significant underestimates of precipitation are likely. 

South Asia 

Over South Asia, the summer is dominated by the southwest monsoon, which spans the 

four months from June to September and dominates the seasonal cycles of the climatic 

parameters. While most models simulate the general migration of seasonal tropical rain, 

the observed maximum rainfall during the monsoon season along the west coast of India, 

the north Bay of Bengal and adjoining northeast India is poorly simulated by many 

models (Lal and Harasawa, 2001; Rupa Kumar and Ashrit, 2001; Rupa Kumar et al., 

2002, 2003). This is likely linked to the coarse resolution of the models, as the heavy 

rainfall over these regions is generally associated with the steep orography. However, the 

simulated annual cycles in South Asian mean precipitation and surface air temperature 

are reasonably close to the observed. The MMD models capture the general regional 

features of the monsoon, such as the low rainfall amounts coupled with high variability 

over northwest India. However, there has not yet been sufficient analysis of whether 

finer details of regional significance are simulated more adequately in the MMD models. 

Recent work indicates that time-slice experiments using an AGCM with prescribed SSTs, 

as opposed to a fully coupled system, are not able to accurately capture the South Asian 

monsoon response (Douville, 2005). Thus, neglecting the short-term SST feedback and 

variability seems to have a significant impact on the projected monsoon response to 

global warming, complicating the regional downscaling problem. However, May 

(2004a) notes that the high-resolution (about 1.5 degrees) European Centre-Hamburg 

(ECHAM4) GCM simulates the variability and extremes of daily rainfall (intensity as 

 

4

 Some references in this section have been changed to be internally consistent with this document and 

other references have been removed to avoid confusion. 
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well as frequency of wet days) in good agreement with the observations (Global 

Precipitation Climatology Project, Huffman et al., 2001). 

Three-member ensembles of baseline simulations (1961–1990) from an RCM (PRECIS) 

at 50-kilometer resolution have confirmed that significant improvements in the 

representation of regional processes over South Asia can be achieved (Rupa Kumar et al., 

2006). For example, the steep gradients in monsoon precipitation with a maximum along 

the western coast of India are well represented in PRECIS. 

East Asia 

Simulated temperatures in most MMD models are too low in all seasons over East Asia; 

the mean cold bias is largest in winter and smallest in summer. Zhou and Yu (2006) 

show that over China, the models perform reasonably in simulating the dominant 

variations of the mean temperature over China, but not the spatial distributions. The 

annual precipitation over East Asia exceeds the observed estimates in almost all models 

and the rain band in the mid-latitudes is shifted northward in seasons other than summer. 

This bias in the placement of the rains in central China also occurred in earlier models 

(e.g., Zhou and Li, 2002; Gao et al., 2004). In winter, the area-mean precipitation is 

overestimated by more than 50 percent on average due to strengthening of the rain band 

associated with extratropical systems over South China. The bias and inter-model 

differences in precipitation are smallest in summer but the northward shift of this rain 

band results in large discrepancies in summer rainfall distribution over Korea, Japan and 

adjacent seas. 

Kusunoki et al. (2006) find that the simulation of the Meiyu-Changma-Baiu rains in the 

East Asian monsoon is improved substantially with increasing horizontal resolution. 

Confirming the importance of resolution, RCMs simulate more realistic climatic 

characteristics over East Asia than AOGCMs, whether driven by re-analyses or by 

AOGCMs (e.g., Ding et al., 2003; Oh et al., 2004; Fu et al., 2005; Zhang et al., 2005a, 

Ding et al., 2006; Sasaki et al., 2006b). Several studies reproduce the fine-scale 

climatology of small areas using a multiply nested RCM (Im et al., 2006) and a very-high 

resolution (5 kilometers) RCM (Yasunaga et al., 2006). Gao et al. (2006b) report that 

simulated East Asia large-scale precipitation patterns are significantly affected by 

resolution, particularly during the mid- to late-monsoon months, when smaller-scale 

convective processes dominate. 

Southeast Asia 

The broad-scale spatial distribution of temperature and precipitation in DJF and JJA 

averaged across the MMD models compares well with observations. Rajendran et al. 

(2004) examine the simulation of current climate in the MRI coupled model. Large-scale 

features were well simulated, but errors in the timing of peak rainfall over Indochina 

were considered a major shortcoming. Collier et al. (2004) assess the performance of the 

CCSM3 model in simulating tropical precipitation forced by observed SST. Simulation 

was good over the Maritime continent compared to the simulation for other tropical 

regions. B. Wang et al. (2004) assess the ability of 11 AGCMs in the Asian-Australian 

monsoon region simulation forced with observed SST variations. They found that the 

models’ ability to simulate observed interannual rainfall variations was poorest in the 

Southeast Asian portion of the domain. Since current AOGCMs continue to have some 
This paper does not represent US Government views. 

43

This paper does not represent US Government views. 

significant shortcomings in representing ENSO variability, the difficulty of projecting 

changes in ENSO-related rainfall in this region is compounded. 

Rainfall simulation across the region at finer scales has been examined in some studies. 

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) stretchedgrid Conformal-Cubic Atmospheric Model (CCAM) at 80-kilometer resolution shows 

reasonable precipitation simulation in JJA, although Indochina tended to be drier than in 

the observations (McGregor and Nguyen, 2003). Aldrian et al. (2004a) conducted a 

number of simulations with the Max-Planck Institute (MPI) regional model for an 

Indonesian domain, forced by reanalyses and by the ECHAM4 GCM. The model was 

able to represent the spatial pattern of seasonal rainfall. It was found that a resolution of 

at least 50 kilometers was required to simulate rainfall seasonality correctly over 

Sulawesi. The formulation of a coupled regional model improves regional rainfall 

simulation over the oceans (Aldrian et al., 2004b). Arakawa and Kitoh (2005) 

demonstrate an accurate simulation of the diurnal cycle of rainfall over Indonesia with an 

AGCM of 20-kilometer horizontal resolution. 

Central Asia and Tibet 

Due to the complex topography and the associated mesoscale weather systems of the 

high-altitude and arid areas, GCMs typically perform poorly over the region. 

Importantly, the GCMs, and to a lesser extent RCMs, tend to overestimate the 

precipitation over arid and semi-arid areas in the north (e.g., Small et al., 1999; Gao et al., 

2001; Elguindi and Giorgi, 2006). 

Over Tibet, the few available RCM simulations generally exhibit improved performance 

in the simulation of present-day climate compared to GCMs (e.g., Gao et al., 2003a,b; 

Zhang et al., 2005b). For example, the GCM simulation of Gao et al. (2003a) 

overestimated the precipitation over the north-western Tibetan Plateau by a factor of five 

to six, while in an RCM nested in this model, the overestimate was less than a factor of 

two. 
This paper does not represent US Government views. 

44

This paper does not represent US Government views. 

Table 2. Biases in present-day (1980-1999) surface air temperature and precipitation in 

the MMD simulations. The simulated temperatures are compared with the HadCRUT2v 

(Jones, et al., 2001) data set and precipitation with the CMAP (update of Xie and Arkin, 

1997) data set. Temperature biases are in °C and precipitation biases in per cent. Shown 

are the minimum, median (50%) and maximum biases among the models, as well as the 

first (25%) and third (75%) quartile values. Colors indicate regions/seasons for which at 

least 75% of the models have the same sign of bias, with orange indicating positive and 

light violet negative temperature biases and light blue positive and light brown negative 

precipitation biases. 
This paper does not represent US Government views. 

45

This paper does not represent US Government views. 

Annex B: Knowledge Deficiencies that Preclude a Full 

Evaluation of Climate Change Impacts on Russia and Russia’s 

Adaptive Capacity 

In order to increase the likelihood that this evaluation represents a reasonable assessment 

of Russia’s projected climate changes and their impacts, and the country’s adaptive 

capacity, the following gaps would need to be addressed: 

• In physical science research, regional analyses will continue to be limited by the 

inability to model regional climates satisfactorily, including complexities arising from 

the interaction of global, regional, and local processes. One gap of particular interest 

is the lack of medium-term (20-30 years) projections that could be relied upon for 

planning purposes. Similarly, scientific projections of water supply and agricultural 

productivity are limited by inadequate understanding of various climate and physical 

factors affecting both areas. Research agendas in these areas can be found in, for 

instance, the synthesis and assessment reports of the US Climate Change Science 

Program (http://www.climatescience.gov) and the National Academy of Sciences 

(e.g., http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11175#toc). Similar types of 

issues exist for the biological and ecological systems that are affected. 

• In social science research, scientists and analysts have only partial understandings of 

the important factors in vulnerability, resilience, and adaptive capacity—much less 

their interactions and evolution. Again, research agendas on vulnerability, adaptation, 

and decision-making abound (e.g., 

(http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12545). 

• Important factors are unaccounted for in research; scientists know what some of them 

are, but there are likely factors whose influence will be surprising. An example from 

earlier research on the carbon cycle illustrates this situation. The first carbon cycle 

models did not include carbon exchanges involving the terrestrial domain. Modelers 

assumed that the exchange was about equal, and the only factor modeled was 

deforestation. This assumption, of course, made the models inadequate for their 

purposes. In another example, ecosystems research models are only beginning to 

account for changes in pests, e.g., the pine bark beetle. 

• Social models or parts of models in climate research have been developed to simulate 

consumption (with the assumption of well-functioning markets and rational actor 

behavior) and mitigation/adaptation policies (but without attention to the social 

feasibility of enacting or implementing such policies). As anthropogenic climate 

change is the result of human decisions, the lack of knowledge about motivation, 

intent, and behavior is a serious lack. 

Overall, research about climate change impacts on Russia has been undertaken 

piecemeal: discipline by discipline, sector by sector, with political implications separately 

considered from physical effects. This knowledge gap can be remedied by integrated 

research into energy-economic-environmental-political conditions and possibilities. 
This paper does not represent US Government views. 

46

This paper does not represent US Government views. 

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47

This paper does not represent US Government views. 

i

 The Library of Congress Country Studies, http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/ (accessed February 5, 2009); CIA 

World Factbook, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ (accessed February 5, 

2009); “Russia Climate,” http://www.russiansabroad.com/russian_history_96.html (accessed February 5, 

2009). 

ii J. Overpeck, K. Hughen, D. Hardy, R. Bradley, R. Case, M. Douglas, B. Finney, K. Gajewski, G. Jacoby, 

A. Jennings, S. Lamoueastreux, A. Lasca, G. MacDonald, J. Moore, M. Retelle, S. Smith, A. Wolfe, G. 

Zielinski, “Arctic Environmental Change of the Last Four Centuries.” Science 278, no. 5341 (1997): 1251-

1256. iii Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Strategic 

Prediction for the Period of up to 2010-2015 of Climate Change Expected in Russia and its Impact on 

Sectors of the Russian National Economy” (Moscow, 2005), 

http://wmc.meteoinfo.ru/media/climate/Strategic%20prediction_2015.pdf (accessed February 17, 2009). 

iv J. Overpeck, K. Hughen, D. Hardy, R. Bradley, R. Case, M. Douglas, B. Finney, K. Gajewski, G. 

Jacoby, A. Jennings, S. Lamoueastreux, A. Lasca, G. MacDonald, J. Moore, M. Retelle, S. Smith, A. 

Wolfe, G. Zielinski, “Arctic Environmental Change of the Last Four Centuries.” Science 278, no. 5341 

(1997): 1251-1256. v

 R. E. Moritz, C.M. Bitz and E. J. Steig, “Dynamics of Recent Climate Change in the Arctic.” Science 297 

(2002): 1497–1502. 

vi R. S. Bradley, H. F. Diaz, J. K. Eischeid, P. D. Jones, P. M. Kelly and C. M. Goodess, “Precipitation 

Fluctuations over Northern Hemisphere Land Areas Since the Mid-19th Century.” Science 237 (1987): 

171–175. 

vii IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]. Climate Change 2007: The AR4 Synthesis Report, 

eds. Rajendra K. Pachauri and Andy Reisinger (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007); 

IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]. Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis, 

eds. Susan Solomon, Dahe Qin, Martin Manning, Melinda Marquis, Kristen Averyt, Melinda M.B. Tignor, 

Henry LeRoy Miller, Jr., Zhenlin Chen (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007); 

IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]. Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and 

Vulnerability, eds. Martin Parry, Osvaldo Canziani, Jean Palutikof, Paul van der Linden, and Clair Hanson 

(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007); 

IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]. Climate Change 2007: Mitigation of Climate Change, 

eds. Bert Metz, Ogunlade Davidson, Peter Bosch, Rutu Dave, Leo Meyer (Cambridge: Cambridge 

University Press, 2007). 

viii Climate Change Risk Management Ltd, “Climate Change in Russia: research and impacts” (May 2008), 

http://www.uk-russia-ccproject.info/documents/Impacts_in_Russia_Report_2008.pdf (accessed February 

17, 2009). 

ix WWF [World Wildlife Fund], “The Impact of Climate Change on the Russian Arctic and Paths to 

Solving the Problem,” Russia, Moscow, 2008. 

x

 Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Strategic 

Prediction for the Period of up to 2010-2015 of Climate Change Expected in Russia and its Impact on 

Sectors of the Russian National Economy” (Moscow, 2005), 

http://wmc.meteoinfo.ru/media/climate/Strategic%20prediction_2015.pdf (accessed February 17, 2009). 

xi WWF [World Wildlife Fund], “The Impact of Climate Change on the Russian Arctic and Paths to 

Solving the Problem,” Russia, Moscow, 2008. 

xii WWF [World Wildlife Fund], “The Impact of Climate Change on the Russian Arctic and Paths to 

Solving the Problem,” Russia, Moscow, 2008. 

xiii R. E. Moritz, C.M. Bitz and E. J. Steig, “Dynamics of Recent Climate Change in the Artic.” Science 297 

(2002): 1497–1502. 

xiv A contrary opinion is cited by a recent report from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), 

which summarizes Russia’s future climate as follows: “For Russia as a whole, climate change impact can 

be characterized as the warming accompanied by rising dryness.” Source: United Nations Development 

Program (UNDP). Renat Perelet, Serguey Pegov and Mikhail Yulkin. Human Development Report 
This paper does not represent US Government views. 

48

This paper does not represent US Government views. 

2007/2008. Fighting climate change: Human solidarity in a divided world. Climate Change. Russia 

Country Paper (2007). xv R. W. Corell, “Challenges of climate change: an Arctic perspective.” Ambio 35, no. 4 (2006): 148-152. 

xvi Climate Change Risk Management Ltd, “Climate Change in Russia: research and impacts” (May 2008), 

http://www.uk-russia-ccproject.info/documents/Impacts_in_Russia_Report_2008.pdf (accessed February 

17, 2009). 

xvii J. Overpeck, K. Hughen, D. Hardy, R. Bradley, R. Case, M. Douglas, B. Finney, K. Gajewski, G. 

Jacoby, A. Jennings, S. Lamoueastreux, A. Lasca, G. MacDonald, J. Moore, M. Retelle, S. Smith, A. 

Wolfe, G. Zielinski, “Arctic Environmental Change of the Last Four Centuries.” Science 278, no. 5341 

(1997): 1251-1256. xviii Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Strategic 

Prediction for the Period of up to 2010-2015 of Climate Change Expected in Russia and its Impact on 

Sectors of the Russian National Economy” (Moscow, 2005), 

http://wmc.meteoinfo.ru/media/climate/Strategic%20prediction_2015.pdf (accessed February 17, 2009). 

xix Source: R. E. Moritz, C.M. Bitz and E. J. Steig, Science 297 (2002): 1497–1502. xx J. Overpeck, K. Hughen, D. Hardy, R. Bradley, R. Case, M. Douglas, B. Finney, K. Gajewski, G. 

Jacoby, A. Jennings, S. Lamoueastreux, A. Lasca, G. MacDonald, J. Moore, M. Retelle, S. Smith, A. 

Wolfe, G. Zielinski, “Arctic Environmental Change of the Last Four Centuries.” Science 278, no. 5341 

(1997): 1251-1256. xxi Climate Change Risk Management Ltd, “Climate Change in Russia: research and impacts” (May 2008), 

http://www.uk-russia-ccproject.info/documents/Impacts_in_Russia_Report_2008.pdf (accessed February 

17, 2009). 

xxii V. P. Meleshko, et al. “Climate of Russia in the 21st Century: Part 3. Future Climate Changes 

Calculated with an Ensemble of Coupled Atmosphere–Ocean General Circulation CMIP3 Models.” 

Russian Meteorology and Hydrology

xxiii V. P. Meleshko, et al. “Climate of Russia in the 21st Century: Part 3. Future Climate Changes 

Calculated with an Ensemble of Coupled Atmosphere–Ocean General Circulation CMIP3 Models.” 

Russian Meteorology and Hydrology 33, no. 9 (2008): 541–552, ISSN: 1068-3739. 

xxiv WWF [World Wildlife Fund], “The Impact of Climate Change on the Russian Arctic and Paths to 

Solving the Problem,” Russia, Moscow, 2008. 

xxv WWF [World Wildlife Fund], “The Impact of Climate Change on the Russian Arctic and Paths to 

Solving the Problem,” Russia, Moscow, 2008. 

xxvi J. Overpeck, K. Hughen, D. Hardy, R. Bradley, R. Case, M. Douglas, B. Finney, K. Gajewski, G. 

Jacoby, A. Jennings, S. Lamoueastreux, A. Lasca, G. MacDonald, J. Moore, M. Retelle, S. Smith, A. 

Wolfe, G. Zielinski, “Arctic Environmental Change of the Last Four Centuries.” Science 278, no. 5341 

(1997): 1251-1256. xxvii J. Overpeck, K. Hughen, D. Hardy, R. Bradley, R. Case, M. Douglas, B. Finney, K. Gajewski, G. 

Jacoby, A. Jennings, S. Lamoueastreux, A. Lasca, G. MacDonald, J. Moore, M. Retelle, S. Smith, A. 

Wolfe, G. Zielinski, “Arctic Environmental Change of the Last Four Centuries.” Science 278, no. 5341 

(1997): 1251-1256. xxviii Climate Change Risk Management Ltd, “Climate Change in Russia: research and impacts” (May 

2008), http://www.uk-russia-ccproject.info/documents/Impacts_in_Russia_Report_2008.pdf (accessed 

March 31, 2009). 

xxix Climate Change Risk Management Ltd, “Climate Change in Russia: research and impacts” (May 2008), 

http://www.uk-russia-ccproject.info/documents/Impacts_in_Russia_Report_2008.pdf (accessed March 31, 

2009). 

xxx R. E. Moritz, C.M. Bitz and E. J. Steig, “Dynamics of Recent Climate Change in the Artic.” Science 297 

(2002): 1497–1502. 

xxxi Climate Change Risk Management Ltd, “Climate Change in Russia: research and impacts” (May 2008), 

http://www.uk-russia-ccproject.info/documents/Impacts_in_Russia_Report_2008.pdf (accessed March 31, 

2009). 

xxxii Oleg Anisimov and Svetlana Reneva. “Permafrost and Changing Climate: The Russian Perspective.” 

AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment 35, no. 4 (2006): 169–175. 
This paper does not represent US Government views. 

49

This paper does not represent US Government views. 

xxxiii Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Strategic 

Prediction for the Period of up to 2010-2015 of Climate Change Expected in Russia and its Impact on 

Sectors of the Russian National Economy” (Moscow, 2005), 

http://wmc.meteoinfo.ru/media/climate/Strategic%20prediction_2015.pdf (accessed February 17, 2009). 

xxxiv J. Overpeck, K. Hughen, D. Hardy, R. Bradley, R. Case, M. Douglas, B. Finney, K. Gajewski, G. 

Jacoby, A. Jennings, S. Lamoueastreux, A. Lasca, G. MacDonald, J. Moore, M. Retelle, S. Smith, A. 

Wolfe, G. Zielinski, “Arctic Environmental Change of the Last Four Centuries.” Science 278, no. 5341 

(1997): 1251-1256. xxxv R. S. Bradley, H. F. Diaz, J. K. Eischeid, P. D. Jones, P. M. Kelly and C. M. Goodess, “Precipitation 

Fluctuations over Northern Hemisphere Land Areas since the Mid-19th Century.” Science 237 (1987): 

171–175. 

xxxvi Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Strategic 

Prediction for the Period of up to 2010-2015 of Climate Change Expected in Russia and its Impact on 

Sectors of the Russian National Economy” (Moscow, 2005), 

http://wmc.meteoinfo.ru/media/climate/Strategic%20prediction_2015.pdf (accessed February 17, 2009). 

xxxvii One presumes that “climate-related” yield means that other variables have been factored out; however, 

this is not explicitly stated in the report. 

xxxviii Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Strategic 

Prediction for the Period of up to 2010-2015 of Climate Change Expected in Russia and its Impact on 

Sectors of the Russian National Economy” (Moscow, 2005), 

http://wmc.meteoinfo.ru/media/climate/Strategic%20prediction_2015.pdf (accessed February 17, 2009). 

xxxix Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Strategic 

Prediction for the Period of up to 2010-2015 of Climate Change Expected in Russia and its Impact on 

Sectors of the Russian National Economy” (Moscow, 2005), 

http://wmc.meteoinfo.ru/media/climate/Strategic%20prediction_2015.pdf (accessed February 17, 2009). 

xl IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]. Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and 

Vulnerability, eds. Martin Parry, Osvaldo Canziani, Jean Palutikof, Paul van der Linden, and Clair Hanson 

(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007) 

xli IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]. Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and 

Vulnerability, eds. Martin Parry, Osvaldo Canziani, Jean Palutikof, Paul van der Linden, and Clair Hanson 

(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007) 

xlii Eric F. Lambin and Helmut J. Geist, eds., Land-Use And Land-Cover Change: Local Processes And 

Global Impacts (Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer, 2006). xliii R. S. Bradley, H. F. Diaz, J. K. Eischeid, P. D. Jones, P. M. Kelly and C. M. Goodess, Precipitation 

Fluctuations over Northern Hemisphere Land Areas Since the Mid-19th Century.” Science 237 (1987): 

171–175. 

xliv Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Strategic 

Prediction for the Period of up to 2010-2015 of Climate Change Expected in Russia and its Impact on 

Sectors of the Russian National Economy” (Moscow, 2005), 

http://wmc.meteoinfo.ru/media/climate/Strategic%20prediction_2015.pdf (accessed February 17, 2009). 

xlv Renat Perelet, Serguey Pegov and Mikhail Yulkin. Human Development Report 2007/2008. Fighting 

climate change: Human solidarity in a divided world. Climate Change. Russia Country Paper (2007), 

United Nations Development Program (UNDP). 

xlvi J. Overpeck, K. Hughen, D. Hardy, R. Bradley, R. Case, M. Douglas, B. Finney, K. Gajewski, G. 

Jacoby, A. Jennings, S. Lamoueastreux, A. Lasca, G. MacDonald, J. Moore, M. Retelle, S. Smith, A. 

Wolfe, G. Zielinski, “Arctic Environmental Change of the Last Four Centuries.” Science 278, no. 5341 

(1997): 1251-1256. xlvii J. Overpeck, K. Hughen, D. Hardy, R. Bradley, R. Case, M. Douglas, B. Finney, K. Gajewski, G. 

Jacoby, A. Jennings, S. Lamoueastreux, A. Lasca, G. MacDonald, J. Moore, M. Retelle, S. Smith, A. 

Wolfe, G. Zielinski, “Arctic Environmental Change of the Last Four Centuries.” Science 278, no. 5341 

(1997): 1251-1256. xlviii Climate Change Risk Management Ltd. May 2008. “Climate Change in Russia: research and impacts.” 

http://www.uk-russia-ccproject.info/documents/Impacts_in_Russia_Report_2008.pdf (accessed February 

17, 2009). 
This paper does not represent US Government views. 

50

This paper does not represent US Government views. 

xlix Climate Change Risk Management Ltd. May 2008. “Climate Change in Russia: research and impacts.” 

http://www.uk-russia-ccproject.info/documents/Impacts_in_Russia_Report_2008.pdf (accessed February 

17, 2009). 

l

 Climate Change Risk Management Ltd. May 2008. “Climate Change in Russia: research and impacts.” 

http://www.uk-russia-ccproject.info/documents/Impacts_in_Russia_Report_2008.pdf (accessed February 

17, 2009). 

li Climate Change Risk Management Ltd. May 2008. “Climate Change in Russia: research and impacts.” 

http://www.uk-russia-ccproject.info/documents/Impacts_in_Russia_Report_2008.pdf (accessed February 

17, 2009). 

lii R. S. Bradley, H. F. Diaz, J. K. Eischeid, P. D. Jones, P. M. Kelly and C. M. Goodess, Precipitation 

Fluctuations over Northern Hemisphere Land Areas Since the Mid-19th Century.” Science 237 (1987): 

171–175. 

liii IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]. Climate Change 2007: The AR4 Synthesis Report, 

eds. Rajendra K. Pachauri and Andy Reisinger (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007) 

liv Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Strategic 

Prediction for the Period of up to 2010-2015 of Climate Change Expected in Russia and its Impact on 

Sectors of the Russian National Economy” (Moscow, 2005), 

http://wmc.meteoinfo.ru/media/climate/Strategic%20prediction_2015.pdf (accessed February 17, 2009). 

lv Climate Change Risk Management Ltd, “Climate Change in Russia: research and impacts” (May 2008), 

http://www.uk-russia-ccproject.info/documents/Impacts_in_Russia_Report_2008.pdf (accessed February 

17, 2009). 

lvi R. E. Moritz, C.M. Bitz and E. J. Steig, “Dynamics of Recent Climate Change in the Artic.” Science 297 

(2002): 1497–1502. 

lvii R. E. Moritz, C.M. Bitz and E. J. Steig, “Dynamics of Recent Climate Change in the Artic.” Science 297 

(2002): 1497–1502. 

lviii Climate Change Risk Management Ltd, “Climate Change in Russia: research and impacts” (May 2008), 

http://www.uk-russia-ccproject.info/documents/Impacts_in_Russia_Report_2008.pdf (accessed February 

17, 2009). 

lix Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Strategic 

Prediction for the Period of up to 2010-2015 of Climate Change Expected in Russia and its Impact on 

Sectors of the Russian National Economy” (Moscow, 2005), 

http://wmc.meteoinfo.ru/media/climate/Strategic%20prediction_2015.pdf (accessed February 17, 2009). 

lx Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Strategic 

Prediction for the Period of up to 2010-2015 of Climate Change Expected in Russia and its Impact on 

Sectors of the Russian National Economy” (Moscow, 2005), 

http://wmc.meteoinfo.ru/media/climate/Strategic%20prediction_2015.pdf (accessed February 17, 2009); 

Also: Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Assessment 

Report on Climate Change and its Consequences in Russian Federation” (Moscow, 2008). 

lxi Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Assessment 

Report on Climate Change and its Consequences in Russian Federation” (Moscow, 2008). 

lxii Many Russian cities employ district heating systems that are turned on at the beginning of the season 

and operate at constant output levels until the end of the heating season. Consequently, there is limited 

scope to respond to a brief warm spell in the middle of the heating season by producing less heat. For the 

discussion of unrealized fuel savings, see: Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental 

Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Strategic Prediction for the Period of up to 2010-2015 of Climate Change 

Expected in Russia and its Impact on Sectors of the Russian National Economy” (Moscow, 2005), 

http://wmc.meteoinfo.ru/media/climate/Strategic%20prediction_2015.pdf (accessed February 17, 2009). 

lxiii Government of the Russian Federation, “Chetvertoye Natsional’noye Soobshcheniye predstavlyaemoye 

v sootvetstviyi so stat’yami 4 i 12 Ramochnoy Konventsii Organizatsii Ob’yedinyennikh Natsii ob 

izmenenii klimata i stat’yey 7 Kyotskogo protokola” (“Fourth National Communication presented in 

accordance with articles 4 and 12 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and 

article 7 of the Kyoto Protocol” – in Russian) (Moscow: 2006). 

lxiv Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Strategic 

Prediction for the Period of up to 2010-2015 of Climate Change Expected in Russia and its Impact on 
This paper does not represent US Government views. 

51

This paper does not represent US Government views. 

Sectors of the Russian National Economy” (Moscow, 2005), 

http://wmc.meteoinfo.ru/media/climate/Strategic%20prediction_2015.pdf (accessed February 17, 2009). 

lxv Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Strategic 

Prediction for the Period of up to 2010-2015 of Climate Change Expected in Russia and its Impact on 

Sectors of the Russian National Economy” (Moscow, 2005), 

http://wmc.meteoinfo.ru/media/climate/Strategic%20prediction_2015.pdf (accessed February 17, 2009). 

lxvi Clifford Gaddy, Fiona Hill, Igor Danchenko, “The Russian Federation – The Brookings Foreign Policy 

Studies Energy Security Series,” (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, October 2006). 

lxvii Clifford Gaddy and Barry Ickes. “Putin’s Third Way,” (The National Interest Online, January 21, 

2009), http://www.nationalinterest.org/Article.aspx?id=20496. 

lxviii Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Strategic 

Prediction for the Period of up to 2010-2015 of Climate Change Expected in Russia and its Impact on 

Sectors of the Russian National Economy” (Moscow, 2005), 

http://wmc.meteoinfo.ru/media/climate/Strategic%20prediction_2015.pdf (accessed February 17, 2009). 

lxix Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Strategic 

Prediction for the Period of up to 2010-2015 of Climate Change Expected in Russia and its Impact on 

Sectors of the Russian National Economy” (Moscow, 2005), 

http://wmc.meteoinfo.ru/media/climate/Strategic%20prediction_2015.pdf (accessed February 17, 2009). 

lxx International Energy Agency, Optimising Russian Natural Gas: Reform and Climate Policy (Paris: 

OECD/IEA, 2006). 

lxxi Already before the financial crisis hit in late 2008, it was clear that to industry analysts that new 

Gazprom production is lagging behind the company’s ambitious targets. Source: International Energy 

Agency (IEA 2006), Optimising Russian Natural Gas: Reform and Climate Policy (Paris: OECD/IEA, 

2006). 

lxxii Jonathan Stern cites more modest and realistic projections for Yamal production. See: Jonathan P. 

Stern, The Future of Russian Gas and Gazprom, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005). Gazprom itself 

is even more optimistic than Stern is – and publicly cites the goal of 360 bcm/year production by 2030. 

See: Gazprom press release, “Gazprom launches Yamal Megaproject,” (December 3, 2008), 

http://www.gazprom.ru/eng/news/2008/12/32740.shtml. 

lxxiii Jonathan P. Stern, The Future of Russian Gas and Gazprom, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005). 

lxxiv Ministry of Industry and Energy of the Russian Federation and Institute for Energy Strategy, 

“Kontseptsiya Energeticheskoy strategii Rossii do 2030 g. (proyekt)” (“Concept for the Energy Strategy of 

Russia to 2030 (draft)”—in Russian), (Moscow: 2007). 

lxxv Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Strategic 

Prediction for the Period of up to 2010-2015 of Climate Change Expected in Russia and its Impact on 

Sectors of the Russian National Economy” (Moscow, 2005), 

http://wmc.meteoinfo.ru/media/climate/Strategic%20prediction_2015.pdf (accessed February 17, 2009). 

lxxvi Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Assessment 

Report on Climate Change and its Consequences in Russian Federation” (Moscow, 2008). 

lxxvii Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Assessment 

Report on Climate Change and its Consequences in Russian Federation” (Moscow, 2008). 

lxxviii Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Strategic 

Prediction for the Period of up to 2010-2015 of Climate Change Expected in Russia and its Impact on 

Sectors of the Russian National Economy” (Moscow, 2005), 

http://wmc.meteoinfo.ru/media/climate/Strategic%20prediction_2015.pdf (accessed February 17, 2009). 

lxxix Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Strategic 

Prediction for the Period of up to 2010-2015 of Climate Change Expected in Russia and its Impact on 

Sectors of the Russian National Economy” (Moscow, 2005), 

http://wmc.meteoinfo.ru/media/climate/Strategic%20prediction_2015.pdf (accessed February 17, 2009). 

lxxx Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Strategic 

Prediction for the Period of up to 2010-2015 of Climate Change Expected in Russia and its Impact on 

Sectors of the Russian National Economy” (Moscow, 2005), 

http://wmc.meteoinfo.ru/media/climate/Strategic%20prediction_2015.pdf (accessed February 17, 2009). 
This paper does not represent US Government views. 

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This paper does not represent US Government views. 

lxxxi Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Assessment 

Report on Climate Change and its Consequences in Russian Federation” (Moscow, 2008). 

lxxxii Igor E. Chestin and Nicholas A. Colloff, eds, “Russia and Neighboring Countries: Environmental, 

Economic, and Social Impacts.” (Moscow: World Wildlife Fund-Russia (WWF-Russia) and Oxfam GB, 

2008). See also: Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), 

“Strategic Prediction for the Period of up to 2010-2015 of Climate Change Expected in Russia and its 

Impact on Sectors of the Russian National Economy” (Moscow, 2005), 

http://wmc.meteoinfo.ru/media/climate/Strategic%20prediction_2015.pdf (accessed February 17, 2009). 

lxxxiii Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Strategic 

Prediction for the Period of up to 2010-2015 of Climate Change Expected in Russia and its Impact on 

Sectors of the Russian National Economy” (Moscow, 2005), 

http://wmc.meteoinfo.ru/media/climate/Strategic%20prediction_2015.pdf (accessed February 17, 2009). 

lxxxiv Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Strategic 

Prediction for the Period of up to 2010-2015 of Climate Change Expected in Russia and its Impact on 

Sectors of the Russian National Economy” (Moscow, 2005), 

http://wmc.meteoinfo.ru/media/climate/Strategic%20prediction_2015.pdf (accessed February 17, 2009). 

lxxxv Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Assessment 

Report on Climate Change and its Consequences in Russian Federation” (Moscow, 2008). 

lxxxvi Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Assessment 

Report on Climate Change and its Consequences in Russian Federation” (Moscow, 2008). 

lxxxvii Nikolai Dronin and Andrei Kirilenko, “Climate change and food stress in Russia: what if the market 

transforms as it did during the past century?” Climatic Change 86 (2008): 123-150. 

lxxxviii Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Strategic 

Prediction for the Period of up to 2010-2015 of Climate Change Expected in Russia and its Impact on 

Sectors of the Russian National Economy” (Moscow, 2005), 

http://wmc.meteoinfo.ru/media/climate/Strategic%20prediction_2015.pdf (accessed February 17, 2009). 

lxxxix Central Intelligence Agency: World Factbook 2008, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/theworld-factbook/index.html. 

xc Russian Railways company website, http://www.eng.rzd.ru/wps/portal/rzdeng?STRUCTURE_ID=4. 

xci Roshydromet says the problem of reduced availability of ice roads will particularly affect the Russian 

Far East, Magadan, Sakha (Yakutia), and Chukotka. See: Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and 

Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Strategic Prediction for the Period of up to 2010-2015 of 

Climate Change Expected in Russia and its Impact on Sectors of the Russian National Economy” 

(Moscow, 2005), http://wmc.meteoinfo.ru/media/climate/Strategic%20prediction_2015.pdf (accessed 

February 17, 2009). 

xcii Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Strategic 

Prediction for the Period of up to 2010-2015 of Climate Change Expected in Russia and its Impact on 

Sectors of the Russian National Economy” (Moscow, 2005), 

http://wmc.meteoinfo.ru/media/climate/Strategic%20prediction_2015.pdf (accessed February 17, 2009). 

xciii Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA), Impacts of a Warming Climate (Cambridge: Cambridge 

University Press, 2004). 

xciv Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA), Impacts of a Warming Climate (Cambridge: Cambridge 

University Press, 2004). 

xcv Gerald A. Meehl, Thomas F. Stocker, et al. “Chapter 10: Global Climate Projections.” In IPCC 

[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]. Climate Change 2007: The AR4 Synthesis Report, eds. 

Rajendra K. Pachauri and Andy Reisinger (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007); 

Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Assessment Report 

on Climate Change and its Consequences in Russian Federation” (Moscow, 2008). 

xcvi Cheryl Lyn Dybas, “Russia Sees Ill Effects of ‘General Winter’s’ Retreat,” Washington Post, April 2, 

2007, A6. 

xcvii Renat Perelet, Serguey Pegov and Mikhail Yulkin, “Climate Change. Russia Country Paper” in United 

Nations Development Program (UNDP), Human Development Report 2007/2008, Fighting climate 

change: Human solidarity in a divided world, 2007. 
This paper does not represent US Government views. 

53

This paper does not represent US Government views. 

xcviii Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Assessment 

Report on Climate Change and its Consequences in Russian Federation” (Moscow, 2008). 

xcix Renat Perelet, Serguey Pegov and Mikhail Yulkin, “Climate Change. Russia Country Paper” in United 

Nations Development Program (UNDP), Human Development Report 2007/2008, Fighting climate 

change: Human solidarity in a divided world, 2007. c

 Timothy L. Thomas, “EMERCOM: Russia’s Emergency Response Team,” Low Intensity Conflict and 

Law Enforcement 4, no. 2 (Autumn 1995): 227-236, 

http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/russia/agency/rusert.htm (accessed February 16, 2009). 

ci Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Assessment 

Report on Climate Change and its Consequences in Russian Federation” (Moscow, 2008). 

cii Fiona Hill and Clifford Gaddy, The Siberian Curse (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 

2003). 

ciii Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Assessment 

Report on Climate Change and its Consequences in Russian Federation” (Moscow, 2008). 

civ Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), “Assessment 

Report on Climate Change and its Consequences in Russian Federation” (Moscow, 2008). 

cv Igor E. Chestin and Nicholas A. Colloff, eds, “Russia and Neighboring Countries: Environmental, 

Economic, and Social Impacts.” (Moscow: World Wildlife Fund-Russia (WWF-Russia) and Oxfam GB, 

2008). 

cvi Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA), Impacts of a Warming Climate (Cambridge: Cambridge 

University Press, 2004). 

cvii Scott G. Borgerson, “Arctic Meltdown: The Economic and Security Implications of Global Warming,” 

Foreign Affairs 87, no. 2 (March/April 2008): 63-77. 

cviii Vladimir Isachenkov, “Russia sending more ships, scientists to Arctic,” (Associated Press, February 12, 

2009), http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_RUSSIA_ARCTIC_CLAIM?SITE=COBOU& 

SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT (accessed February 16, 2009). 

cix David Stringer, “Arctic’s thaw brings security risks for NATO.” (Associated Press, January 30, 2009), 

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/markets/headline_news/article.jsp?content=D9610E5O1 (accessed 

January 30, 2009). 

cx Owen Matthews and Anna Nemtsova, “The Kremlin Vigilantes – As anti-immigrant groups grow more 

violent, they get more explicit support from Russian Authorities,” (Newsweek International, February 23, 

2009), http://www.newsweek.com/id/184777 (accessed February 20, 2009). 

cxi Igor E. Chestin and Nicholas A. Colloff, eds., “Russia and Neighboring Countries: Environmental, 

Economic, and Social Impacts.” (Moscow: World Wildlife Fund-Russia (WWF-Russia) and Oxfam GB, 

2008). 

cxii Anya Ardayeva, “Attacks Against Minorities Up in Russia,” (Voice of America, February 19, 2009) 

http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-02-19-voa59.cfm (accessed February 20, 2009); 

Owen Matthews and Anna Nemtsova, “The Kremlin Vigilantes – As anti-immigrant groups grow more 

violent, they get more explicit support from Russian Authorities,” (Newsweek International, February 23, 

2009), http://www.newsweek.com/id/184777 (accessed February 20, 2009). 

cxiii Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, “Glossary,” Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation 

and Vulnerability: Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the 

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, eds. M.L. Parry, O.F. Canziani, J.P. Palutikof, P.J. van der 

Linden and C.E. Hanson (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2007). 

cxiv G. Yohe and R. Tol, “Indicators for social and economic coping capacity—moving toward a working 

definition of adaptive capacity,” Global Environmental Change 12 (2002): 25-40 cxv E.L. Malone and A.L. Brenkert, “Vulnerability, sensitivity, and coping/adaptive capacity worldwide,”

The Distributional Effects of Climate Change: Social and Economic Implications, M. Ruth and M. 

Ibarraran, eds., Elsevier Science, Dordrecht (in press). 

cxvi N. Nakicenovic and R. Swart, Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (Cambridge: Cambridge 

University Press 2000). 

cxvii Nikolai Dronin and Andrei Kirilenko, “Climate change and food stress in Russia: what if the market 

transforms as it did during the past century?” Climatic Change 86 (2008): 123-150. 
This paper does not represent US Government views. 

54

This paper does not represent US Government views.