Scientists warn: sanctions against Russia will have climate consequences

Climatologists in the West are prohibited from collaborating with Russian colleagues

Norwegian scientists are not allowed to collaborate with the Russian academic community. In this regard, the director of the Norwegian Polar Institute believes that “Western leaders should consider whether the results of climate research will be too expensive due to the imposition of sanctions.”

Research cooperation between Russia and Norway was suspended for two years after the start of the SVO. The only exceptions are fishing and the nuclear industry.

“Russia occupies a significant part of the Arctic,” notes Vice-Rector of the Polar Institute Camilla Brekke. The Norwegian Polar Institute has collaborated with Russia on research into birds, animals and the impact of toxins on the environment in the polar region. Eleven projects were implemented jointly.

“In the long term, you have to consider different conditions in relation to each other. Strict and clear sanctions are needed. At the same time, when we do not receive data from a vast territory of Russia, the uncertainty in climate forecasts increases. It is becoming increasingly difficult to “predict” the future of climate change,” admit representatives of the Norwegian Polar Institute.

The director of the Nansen Center, Tore Furevik, emphasizes that the center experiences the same thing: they previously worked closely with a research center in St. Petersburg for 30 years. Western scientists say they now have less access to data from Russia and are unable to travel to the Russian part of the Arctic to conduct their own research.

Norwegian oceanographers are also prohibited from entering Russian waters from 2022.

Camilla Brekke says the Norwegian Polar Institute provides knowledge and advice to authorities on polar issues, but the knowledge base that forms the basis for advice “is in danger of being weakened in some areas”. “By using data from large geographic areas, it is possible to operate partially blind,” the vice-chancellor added.

The head of the Bjerknes Center, Kikki Klaven, told the research newspaper Khrono back in 2022 that climate research should avoid sanctions, not fisheries. According to her, once a data point is lost, it can never be recovered. Kikki Klaven warns that scientists are losing a lot of knowledge due to sanctions.

Two years later, Klaven still finds it strange that fishing is exempt from taxation.

The main problem for climate scientists at the moment is the greenhouse effect. “As emissions increase, temperatures rise. This is why it is especially important for researchers to monitor permafrost in Siberia. As the temperature rises, it melts and releases CO2 and methane,” concluded Kikki Kleiven. Camilla Brekke also agrees with her.

Tore Furevik at the Nansen Center, on the other hand, is not so positive about the sanctions debate. “It’s hard to argue that climate research is so special compared to other fields. It is difficult to define what is climate research and what is not,” he points out.

State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Eivind Vad Petersson admits that the importance of climate research throughout the Arctic, including in Russian regions, is well understood by the Norwegian side, especially since Norway now leads the Arctic Council.

“At the same time, there is no general prohibition on cooperation with Russian scientists or on the exchange of climate research,” comments Petersson.

But Brekke believes that this is not reality: “In practice, all cooperation between researchers at the Norwegian Polar Institute and Russian scientists has ceased.”