Authors

Marianna Poberezhskaya²; Martus Ellie¹; Morena Skalamera³;  ¹ Griffith University, Australia;  ² Nottingham Trent University, UK;  ³ Leiden University, Netherlands

Discussion

Whilst climate change mitigation remains the priority of the global climate regime, the inevitability of warming to 1.5C has significantly elevated adaptation policies within global negotiations. For example, Article 7 of the Paris Agreement has established ‘the global goal on adaptation of enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate change’. The latest meeting of the parties in Dubai (2024) adopted the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience which among other initiatives suggests transparent and pro-active national process towards adaptation. The post-Soviet space represents a variety of climate change vulnerabilities which come both from the geographical characteristics (e.g. water scarcity in Central Asia or permafrost melting in Russia) and from the socio-political predicaments of the region. In particular, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Belarus embody different manifestations of authoritarianism which present a restrictive political environment that can hinder or in some (rare) cases facilitate climate adaptation policies and practices. Furthermore, they each have complex geopolitical agendas and relations with neighbouring countries and the wider international community. Arguably, these international entanglements make the studied countries ‘distracted’ from climate change policy or in some cases help them elevate their profile internationally without tackling climate change. Currently, the most extreme case is Russia which has isolated itself from the West due to its invasion of the neighbouring state of Ukraine. Azerbaijan, following close behind, has managed to remain a powerhouse in the Caucasus (mostly due to its hydrocarbon sales) and will host COP29 later this year, yet until recently has had the ‘frozen conflict’ of Nagorno Karabakh within its borders which resulted in a controversial escalation in 2024. On the other side, the Central Asian states and Georgia, though not without problems at the national level (e.g. violent suppression of the protests in Kazakhstan, democratic backsliding in Georgia), have managed to stay away from the regional conflicts and maintain relations with a variety of international actors. In this paper we look at how these chosen cases have advanced their climate adaptation policies and the extent to which the national and international context has hindered or supported these developments.