A Greenpeace report condemns Russia's political-economic model: an intertwining of extractivism, authoritarianism and war that is destroying the environment, with serious repercussions for the global ecosystem.
The political-economic model of contemporary Russia is built on extractivism, authoritarianism and war. These elements are interconnected and mutually reinforcing, threatening not only the country's future but also global environmental stability.
This is the conclusion reached by experts at Greenpeace International, who have published a lengthy report on environmental conditions in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, and the impact these conditions are having at both local and global level.
The document ("Fossil Fuel Empire") analyses the ecological situation, the repression of environmental movements and the global impact of Russia's environmental policies: a country that in 2023 banned Greenpeace itself, yet where there are still those with the courage to fight for the environment.
Extractivism, authoritarianism and war. These are the keywords on which, according to the report, the political-economic model of modern Russia is founded. The war in Ukraine is largely funded by revenues from fossil fuels which, rather than being distributed equitably to improve the population's quality of life, fuel militarism and elite interests. Elites that in turn depend on the exploitation of natural resources to maintain their grip on wealth and power. In this way, Greenpeace argues, a vicious cycle is generated that destroys nature and threatens social and environmental justice, making the transition towards fairer, more sustainable and peaceful development effectively impossible.
"Vladimir Putin and his loyalists have made extractivism the foundation of a system based on corruption, imperialist propaganda and repression," the Greenpeace report reads. "A system in which a narrow circle of elites profits from the exploitation of people and nature, as well as from the forcible seizure of neighbouring states' territories."
This model, Greenpeace experts argue, threatens not only Russia's future but also global stability, as it accelerates the climate crisis and contributes to biodiversity loss in a world where everything is interconnected.
Since 2022, one of the most visible changes has been the rise in military and security spending, which now absorbs up to forty per cent of the federal budget, Greenpeace writes. Funds that are being diverted away from civilian sectors, environmental protection and sustainable development.
The wartime conversion of the economy has also intensified industrial production in the most polluting sectors, such as defence and heavy metallurgy. Furthermore, the exit of major Western energy companies from the Russian market has deprived the country of technologies that had made resource extraction at least partially more responsible.
The result? Deforestation, water contamination and growing soil exploitation. With consequences that reverberate across the entire ecosystem. "The oligarchic system that sustains Russia's political-military leadership has sacrificed nature to its own interests," Anton Lementuev, editor of Green Think Tank, a research group that analyses Russia's environmental and energy policies, told LifeGate.
Since 2022, environmental laws have been dismantled, monitoring reduced and public oversight eliminated: environmental protection has effectively ceased to exist as a state priority.
Anton Lementuev
"This is happening against a backdrop of a sharp increase in industrial waste production, frequent oil spills and growing secrecy surrounding environmentally hazardous projects, now treated as matters of national security," Lementuev continues.
With its vast territory covered in forests, lakes and rivers, the Russian Federation plays a fundamental role in the balance of the global ecosystem. Its natural areas – from the Arctic seas to the Siberian forests – regulate the climate, store enormous quantities of carbon and are home to extraordinary biodiversity.
But Russia is also one of the world's leading exporters of fossil fuels and producers of greenhouse gases. Without a genuine commitment to a responsible environmental policy, Greenpeace warns, it will be impossible to effectively tackle the climate crisis and protect biological diversity.
And unfortunately the consequences of the short-sighted choices of the political class, combined with the climate changes already under way, are plain to see: it is estimated that the surface area of Russia's shallow permafrost (which accounts for more than two thirds of the world's permafrost) could shrink by 22–28 per cent by 2050 and by 40–72 per cent by 2100, compared to the 1995–2014 period. A thaw that could accelerate climate change, with devastating effects on the Planet.
As Greenpeace points out, the Russian economy – which is based on the exploitation of natural resources – has for decades enjoyed the support of foreign governments and large transnational corporations keen to secure stable supplies of oil, gas, coal, metals and other raw materials.
According to Greenpeace, Russia's position on climate policy has changed radically from the 1990s to today. The participatory and constructive attitude demonstrated in the immediate aftermath of the collapse of the USSR has given way to deliberate obstructionism, backed by domestic industrial lobbies.
As the report states, "during the drafting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Unfccc) and the Kyoto Protocol, Russia presented itself as a constructive actor. It had supported the market mechanisms provided for under the Kyoto Protocol, such as emissions trading, Joint Implementation (JI) and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)". In the early 2000s, however, this commitment began to wane.
Russia's Strategy for Low-Emission Development until 2050, published in 2021, sets out various decarbonisation scenarios, but with long timelines extending beyond 2035. The plan also relies on technological solutions that are still poorly developed or unreliable in the Russian context, such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) and CO₂ sequestration through forests — which have, however, suffered severe damage due to wildfires and illegal logging.
Even in the most optimistic scenario, writes Greenpeace, Moscow's priority remains the same: to continue exporting oil and gas.
Despite the efforts made in the 1990s to strengthen environmental protection at an institutional level and broaden public participation, environmental legislation has weakened over recent decades, as has the work of activists and NGOs, stifled by a tightening crackdown and the introduction of the new "foreign agents law": a measure that prevents organisations from operating in the country and exposes their staff to severe criminal consequences.
"We were forced to close our office in Russia and no longer have any staff or volunteers in the country. Greenpeace therefore manages activities related to Russia from abroad," Anna Jerzak, Greenpeace's expert for Central and Eastern Europe, explained to LifeGate.
We work with a network of environmental protection and ecological activism specialists so that we can monitor environmental crimes taking place in Russia even though we are no longer physically present in the country.
Anna Jerzak
In April 2025, the list of so-called "foreign agents" included more than 1,200 organisations and individual citizens. According to Greenpeace, over the past three years, Russian authorities have targeted 553 activists and environmental organisations. And at least 110 environmental activists are reported to have been persecuted for expressing views against the war: most of them received fines or short prison sentences; in other cases, dissent led to criminal proceedings, with sentences of up to six years in prison.
Among the most emblematic cases is that of well-known climate activist Arshak Makichyan, organiser of the Fridays for Future demonstrations in Russia, who was stripped of Russian citizenship along with his family and forced into exile.
According to Amnesty International, the purpose of these measures is to isolate politically active individuals in Russia, creating a climate of fear and uncertainty that limits cooperation between Russian and international organisations.
Nevertheless, despite the repression, environmental activism remains one of the few forms of protest still alive in contemporary Russia.
Even before the war, local movements had emerged in some peripheral regions against landfills, deforestation and polluting industrial projects. Today, despite the risks, some activists continue their fight through clean-up initiatives, urban green space protection projects and recycling schemes.
It is no coincidence that between 2023 and 2024, environmental protests were the most widespread after those against the war: a sign that defending the environment remains an important act of rebellion in a country where every other form of dissent has been suppressed.
"Russia has plunged into a bloody war economy, fuelled by fossil fuels and propaganda," declared Mads Christensen, Executive Director of Greenpeace International. "Yet determined journalism can still break the silence. And that is precisely why it is essential to keep reporting on Russia: not only to expose the environmental devastation caused by the regime's violence and corruption, but also to bear witness that Greenpeace, together with millions of people, has absolutely no intention of being silenced."
"The climate crisis can only be contained if Russia, with its high CO₂ emissions and its vast deposits, is included in global mitigation efforts," Anna Jerzak told LifeGate. "The transition away from the extractivist, fossil fuel-dependent model towards a sustainable and diversified economy is crucial not only for Russia's future, but also for the global fight against the climate crisis."
