Position Paper

Country: The Russian Federation

Committee: The Social Cultural and Humanitarian

Committee

Topic: The Social Impacts of Climate Change on

indigenous peoples
Delegate: Saad Atif

Climate change causes more frequent and more harmful natural disasters like wildfires, storms, floods and
droughts. Ice caps and glaciers are melting and causing a general rise in sea levels. There are more floods than ever
from rivers and lakes affecting towns, cities and farms. Extreme temperatures cause droughts from global warming
and the critical thing is droughts are happening in poorer countries such as Africa where people can’t always get
water for themselves.

Regardless, climate change is not confined to natural havocs or disasters. The social implications of climate change
are far more outstretched than any other implication of this havoc. The Russian Federation recognizes that the
social implications of climate change are far reaching and have tormented the society. The implications ranging
from floods, draughts, and the extinction of species are recognized as the major impacts.

Climate change has potential long-term effects on the living environment, especially in countries with large
territories and long coastal line, such as Russia stretching from sun scorched pre-Caspian deserts to Arctic tundra
and spanning 11 time zones (GMT+2 to GMT+12). The impact of climate change, including the adverse
accompanying socioeconomic consequences of natural hazards, plays a conspicuous role in the spatial and
economic development of this country.

International significance of the Russian Federation’s stance in regard to climate change is duly recognized
worldwide. The Russian Federation’s ratification, with its 17.4 % of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, of the
Kyoto Protocol swiftly pushed its entering into force in February 2005. Annex B of this document set a limit to the
Russian Federation’s anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by the end of the Protocol first commitment
period (2008-2012) at the level of country’s GHG emissions in 1990.

In developing the Russian Federation’s national climate change policies it is important to forecast expected climate
change impacts on the country's different natural zones, economic sectors as well as to assess climate change
vulnerability of human and social systems, especially indigenous communities inhabiting permafrost areas, which
are now subject to thawing. In conclusion, it is stressed that climate change for the Russian Federation is an
essential additional stress further aggravating environmental, economic and social issues, although Russia's overall
energy demands may markedly dwindle and could benefit national economy. A response to climate change
challenges requires designing and adopting special mitigation and adaptation policies, an early warning system for
climate change relating to natural disasters and ecosystem changes. In addition, the Russian Federation will be
playing a constructive role in international climate change efforts.