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19 applicants are demanding to recognize a number of laws as inconsistent with the Constitution of the Russian Federation due to the catastrophic consequences of climate change.
As it became known, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation accepted for consideration the first ever climate lawsuit against the Russian authorities. The plaintiffs are the environmental group Ecodefense and 18 activists from environmental, climate, human rights movements, as well as those working to protect the rights of indigenous peoples. The plaintiffs believe that Russia’s current climate policy violates the basic rights enshrined in the Constitution: to life, health, and a clean environment.
The number of catastrophic events (floods, forest fires, heat waves, etc.) that scientists attribute to climate change is increasing. According to Russian government data, the average temperature in Russia is rising more than twice as fast as in the rest of the world. In order to stop climate change, it is necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which Russia has pledged to do by signing the Paris Climate Agreement. To meet the goals of the agreement, Russia must reduce emissions from nearly 2.2 billion tons of CO2 equivalent per year to 968 million tons by 2030 and 157 million tons by 2050, the plaintiffs say.
The 19 petitioners challenge the constitutionality of Presidential Decree No. 666 of November 4, 2020 «On Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions» and the annex to the Strategy for the Socio-Economic Development of the Russian Federation with Low Greenhouse Gas Emissions until 2050, as well as a number of related laws. The Decree and the Strategy are the main target-setting documents of the Russian Federation in the area of greenhouse gas emission reduction.
«The emission reduction targets set by Russia are extremely far from the levels required by the Paris Agreement, which means the state is neglecting to protect citizens from climate change. We want the Constitutional Court to oblige the authorities to restore climate order,» says Grigory Vaypan, lawyer for the plaintiffs.
«Instead of reducing emissions, Russia plans to increase them in accordance with the presidential decree. This is a policy of climate destruction, which entails new catastrophes taking more and more lives. We need urgent action to reduce emissions and effective adaptation plans across the country,» says Vladimir Slivyak, co-chairman for Russian environmental group Ecodefense and the Right Livelihood Award laureate.
«In order to maintain a favorable climate on the planet, we need to act now. Otherwise, future generations will have to live in unbearable conditions, and for indigenous peoples and other vulnerable groups this means literal extinction as climate change destroys resources vital to their survival», says Arshak Makichyan, ex-campaigner with Russian Fridays for Future who was repressed by Russian government and now lives in exile in Germany.
