Donald Trump is not the only one to do what could be described as an anti-environmental provocation. His Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin proudly considers the melting of the Arctic to be good news. According to him, it would be a tremendous economic opportunity.
By the end of May 2017, Donald Trump should decide on the position of the United States regarding the Paris Agreements (COP21) as he promised. The latter had strongly criticized them during his presidential campaign. However, he is not the only head of state to be openly climate-skeptical, as is also the case with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
During the International Forum on the Arctic organized in Arkhangelsk (Russia’s Far North) which took place on March 29 and 30, 2017, the latter expressed himself in a way that surely gave chills to environmental activists. . The interested party said he was delighted with the melting of the Arctic.
“Climate change provides more favorable conditions to develop the economic potential of this region. If these trends continue, imagine what will happen. Currently, along the northern route, 1.4 million tons of goods are transported by freighter; in 2035, this figure will be 30 million. That gives you an idea of the growth I’m talking about. »
This declaration, however, goes in the opposite direction of what the Russian head of state seemed to think during the Paris Agreements less than two years ago. Vladimir Putin considered that climate change had become one of the greatest challenges concerning the planet and deplored the resurgence of natural disasters and also sources of economic loss.
From now on, the Russian president believes that global warming “started in the 1930s and would be bound according to him “to Earth cycles or even interplanetary interactions” and that it was better « to adapt » than trying to stop it.
In addition to a more pronounced opening of the maritime passage of the Russian Far North, this region contains many natural riches that the melting of the ice could make it possible to exploit en masse. Moreover, the country has the largest population among the countries present in the Arctic with 2.3 million people, which represents an army of potential workers.
Sources: L’Obs – L’Essentiel – Le Temps