By Taran Rai, CRRI Intern

In Canada, warming temperatures have resulted in the collapse of one of the last remaining Canadian ice shelves, forming a 60km² iceberg off the coast of Ellesmere Island. One of the key factors behind the collapse is global warming, as a recent increase of 8.9 degrees Fahrenheit raised the temperature in the Arctic above the 30-year average, according to Deutsche Welle. Scientists estimate that the ice shelf was formed up to 4000 years ago, with temperature increases since the 19th century contributing to the melting over 50% of the ice shelf so far.

 

One of the effects of the global warming in Russia is especially felt in Northern areas such as Norilsk, where melting permafrost led to infrastructure damage and an oil spill. The Washington Post reported that a fuel reservoir was ruptured, spilling “21,000 tons of diesel into fragile river ecosystems and wetlands”. The fuel could have severe environmental effects, including the extinction of endangered sea creatures native to Norilsk and lingering toxic chemicals in the topsoil. Currently, Russia is set to demand around €2bn in compensation for the disaster to cover cleanup and ecological restoration programs.

Melting permafrost couldn’t have occurred at a worse time for Russia, having already been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent economic recession.  The 2035 strategy is likely a move from the Kremlin to reduce unemployment in the region and help support the remote and inaccessible cities north of the Arctic Circle before COVID-19, and is even more necessary in the current situation.

While the infrastructure damage as a result of climate change in Russia stands at €2bn according to S&P Global, it’s been estimated by The Telegram that Canada could incur “costs of climate change could represent about $5 billion per year by 2020 in Canada, and, depending on the levels of continued global emissions growth, could rise to $21 billion to $43 billion per year by 2050.” The financial and humanitarian implications of global warming related infrastructure damage both in Canada and Russia, as well as other northern countries, may unfold into the crisis of century.

Collapsing ice shelves leading to rising sea levels “could cause $14.2 trillion in [global] infrastructure damage this century if we don’t curb carbon emissions” according to Gizmodo. Climate-related infrastructure damage will likely become more prevalent for Canada in the near future as well, with other nearby ice caps like Murray and Simmons also in danger of irreversible harm. While melting sea ice has had a negligible impact so far, the melting of Murray and Simmons could lead to far more serious financial and ecological losses for the Arctic nation in the coming years. Russia, on the other hand, has a much larger presence in the Arctic circle and is much more vulnerable to the effects of thawing earth and rising sea levels.

To the world, climate change poses a potentially existential threat. Russia and Canada, as global leaders, have a duty to lead the fight against climate change to protect both themselves and other vulnerable nations around the world.