In August 2015, Vladimir Putin and Russia petitioned the United Nations for a large chunk of Arctic territory using a little known international treaty called 'The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.' Russia claimed a 460,000 square mile section of frozen landmass that is thought to contain nearly 5 billion tons of oil.
Trump pulled out of the Paris Agreement because he is putting "America First." Well, VICE News laid out exactly how global warming denial is benefiting Russia, not America, 'bigly.' America is just one of three countries to abstain from the agreement, and, due to its position in the Arctic, Russia is one of the few countries who stand to benefit from global warming. Climate change is opening up new shipping routes and vast oil and gas reserves, boosting Russia's industry, while negatively impacting the rest of the natural world.
Experts predict that the area could hold a quarter of the world's untapped oil reserves and natural gas deposits, bringing wealth and power to whichever country controlled the area. Since then, Russia has began constructing military bases and reclaiming once-abandoned establishments in the Arctic whilst setting up air and water defense systems along the Arctic coastline, according to VICE News. The only problem for the Russians is that the oil is currently inaccessible. It is trapped beneath the frozen landscape, but that is rapidly changing.
Watch 27 years of 'old' Arctic ice melt away in seconds.
"The problem is that if they go up and spill, it's a disaster locally. If they go up and don't spill, and succeed, then it's a disaster globally," said Greenpeace's Travis Nichols to VICE News. It is an extreme fossil fuel project that cannot move forward if we're to mitigate the worst effects of climate change. But Russia stands to benefit greatly economically if global warming remains constant, which explains why Putin and other leaders happily deny it with the most sinister of grins upon their face.
The Murmansk Port in Russia, also known as the 'Gateway to the Arctic,' is just one example of how Russia stands to benefit financially from climate change while the rest of the world suffers. It is a passage along the Northern Sea Route to the next port of Arkhangelsk, Russia where, just a few years ago, was treacherous to navigate due to the thick ice shelves that ships must pass through.
Since the ice has been shrinking away for decades to due global warming, which affects the Arctic nearly twice as much as any other area, the route has become much more accessible. The ice shelf has shrunk to a quarter of its size in just 30 years.
"Traffic has significantly increased," said Kirill Kormeyev, Captain of the Russian conglomerate Norilsk's ice-class vessel. "It's a substantial time and fuel saver. It's a massive gain." Norilsk Nickel is a transport company worth nearly $20 billion and is just one of the companies betting big on the Northern Sea Route and global warming.
As more Arctic ice melts, it is estimated that some Russian company shipping routes will be decreased by as much as 1,800 miles in some cases, which would obviously be a significant financial benefit for them. The short-term economic gain is trumping the long-term negative effects of rising temperatures.
However, Russia is seeing some negative effects from the rising temperatures. Around Lake Baikal, wildfires burned through hundreds of thousands of miles of lush forestry and beautiful landscape, which got absolutely zero coverage by Russian media. It seems that they have successfully brainwashed many of their citizens to believe that global warming is a legitimately positive happening in the world. It's incredible and only gives more fuel to the fire for those saying that President Trump is palling around with Russians behind the backs of Americans, which is gaining more and more traction everyday.
