Legal and Institutional Aspects of Russia’s Policy on Climate Change Adaptation in the Arctic Zone

Annotation

The aim of this article is to examine the legal and institutional components of Russian policy on climate change adaptation in the Arctic region of the Russian Federation. For this purpose, regulatory legal acts concerning the issue of adaptation to climate change were studied. The documents are divided into four groups. The main methods are document analysis, comparative analysis. The author made the following conclusions. The legal framework for climate change adaptation has been generally formed in Russia. However, the definition of adaptation, its aims and objectives are not specified in the Russian Federation’s environmental legislation; therefore, amendments to the legislation are required. Adaptation is reflected in strategic documents of Russia, but not all strategies highlight it as a direction of climate policy. The documents on the development of the Arctic region of the Russian Federation prescribe a number of adaptation measures. The main documents in this area are federal, sectoral and regional adaptation plans. The Arctic zone of the Russian Federation has adopted its own plan. Seven constituent entities of the Russian Federation within the Arctic zone have adopted their own plans, which are characterized by the abstract nature of the measures and their inconsistency with adaptation measures, and which also fail to reflect the interests of the indigenous peoples of the North. This requires detailed refinement of the plans and the introduction of amendments. The institutional framework is represented by the Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation on Climate Issues, executive bodies and committees of legislative bodies. Scientific institutions and the business community are interested in the implementation of adaptive policy. However, specialized body that would be responsible for implementing policy in this area, either in the country as a whole or in the Russian Arctic, hasn’t been created. The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment of the Russian Federation at the federal level and the Ministry for Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic in the Arctic zone could be responsible for implementing such policies. Supervisory powers should be assigned to Roshydromet (the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring). The practical significance of the work lies in the possibility of using its results by Russian political actors.

About authors

Darya N. Veselova, Cand. Sci. (Polit.)
Saint Petersburg State University, Universitetskaya nab., 7/9, Saint Petersburg, Russia
North-West Institute of Management of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Sredny pr., V.O., 57/43, Saint Petersburg, Russia
University under the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of EurAsEC, ul. Smolyachkova, 14, building 1, lit. B, Saint Petersburg, Russia
daria-voronchikhina@mail.ru, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6674-0357

Keywords

Arctic, climate change, adaptation, mitigation, Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, adaptation plans, Climate Doctrine, climate policy, Arctic entities

DOI

https://doi.org/10.37482/issn2221-2698.2026.63.160

UDC

[323:551.5](985)(045)