European Rights Court Rejects Landmark Russian Climate Case

A group of Russian activists and Indigenous people has lost a landmark climate case at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in June. The court declared the case inadmissible without providing specific reasons, leaving the plaintiffs shocked and disappointed.

The lawsuit, known as the “Russian Climate Case,” was filed by a group of ten people, including members of the Yukaghir Indigenous community in northeastern Siberia, with Russia's Supreme Court four years ago before being transferred to the ECHR. They accused the Russian government of failing to meet its international climate commitments, leading to severe consequences for their environment and livelihoods.

One of the plaintiffs, Arshak Makichyan, said their legal team disagreed with the ruling, especially given that similar cases have been considered by the court. Makichyan, who was stripped of Russian citizenship in 2022, suggested the decision may have been politically motivated, with the court wary of confronting Russia on such a serious issue.

Everyday Life Disrupted

For Indigenous peoples in Siberia and Russia's Far East, climate change is not a distant concern but a daily reality. Elder Vyacheslav Shadrin of the Yukaghir people noted that floods used to occur every three to four years, with catastrophic floods every decade, but now a year without flooding is unusual, and wildfires happen annually.

Wildfires burn millions of hectares of forest each year. Russia's worst wildfire season was in 2021, when nearly 190,000 square kilometers were scorched—an area larger than Syria. Although the situation has recently improved due to weather conditions and better fire prevention measures, fires can still occur year-round, including within the Arctic Circle and during winter.

Permafrost, the permanently frozen ground underlying more than half of Russia's surface, is thawing. This layer stores vast amounts of greenhouse gases accumulated over thousands of years; as it melts, these gases are released into the atmosphere, while also destroying infrastructure such as roads and buildings. Shadrin said that winter roads in the tundra, which previously opened in November and operated through May, now only function from around the start of the new year to mid-April, cutting their usable time in half compared to 30 years ago.

The thaw also exposes ancient organic matter, potentially awakening dormant diseases. In 2016, an anthrax outbreak in Siberia was believed to have originated from animal carcasses that surfaced as the ground melted.

Russia's Climate Commitments

Russia officially became a party to the Paris Agreement in 2019, committing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. However, meeting this target requires significant emission cuts. Experts argue that the Russian government prioritizes sovereignty and development over environmental protection and has relaxed environmental regulations to support sanctioned industries.

Oleg Pluzhnikov, a former official at the Ministry of Economic Development, said that in practice Russia is among the countries doing almost nothing to address climate change. Despite numerous climate and energy efficiency programs on paper, government budgets allocate very little to them. He emphasized that all current policies are designed for the benefit of the fossil fuel industry.

Following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, the departure of foreign companies and sanctions have hindered private investment in renewable energy as well as cross-border scientific cooperation. However, Pluzhnikov argued that blaming sanctions is inadequate, as Russia had already lacked substantive efforts. He added, “Russia is now using these sanctions to justify its inaction.”

Meanwhile, Anastasia Pukhalskaya, rector of the Kaliningrad Advanced Training Institute, defended the government's efforts, stating that the carbon neutrality goal remains intact and modernization and energy efficiency projects are still underway. She also suggested that sanctions have pushed Russia to develop domestic solutions and that the climate agenda is becoming “more sovereign.”

The Case's Next Steps

Although Russia left the ECHR in September 2022, the plaintiffs argue that the case predates that withdrawal and thus remains within the court's jurisdiction. Lawyer Grigory Vaypan of the group said that the case files were lost, delaying proceedings, before the judge issued a dismissal without explanation. He called it “arbitrary and chaotic,” something he had never encountered in over a decade practicing before the ECHR.

The plaintiffs are not giving up. They intend to appeal to the ECHR President and the United Nations human rights framework. Makichyan hopes the international community will continue to pay attention to Russia's climate policy, noting that there are many diplomatic and economic ways to pressure the country.