National security challenged by Arctic climate change

Talking to newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Yuri Averyanov, one of the leaders in the Security Council administration, maintains that Russia in 10-15 years will face serious trouble in its Arctic territories because of the melting permafrost.

Thousands of kilometers of pipelines, railway, roads and a big number of towns will be in danger following the melting, and the development will require the introduction of new construction regulations, Averyanov says. He believes that as much as 25 percent of all houses in towns and cities like Tiksi, Yakutsk and Vorkuta already in 10-15 years will become useless because of the unstable ground conditions.

The permafrost covers two thirds of Russian land territories and the changing climate could destabilize all building and engineering facilities in the area.

Mr. Averyanov also believes climate change in the Arctic could results in new inter-state conflicts following different countries’ search and exploration of energy resources, use of sea transport routes, bio-resources and more.

-The circumpolar countries, and first of all the USA and its allies, are actively expanding their scientific, economical and military presence in the Arctic in order to get control over Arctic waters […] and seek to restrict Russia’s access to developing its Arctic deposits, Averyanov told the newspaper.

He also believes that the permafrost melting could significantly hamper the country’s abilities to use military equipment in the region.

The statements from the Security Council representative are outlined also in Russia National Security Strategy, which was adopted in spring last year. As BarentsObserver reported, the document outlines the shelf of the Barents Sea and other areas of the Arctic as regions of upcoming international competition for energy resources, and that competition and conflict over the hydrocarbon resources might eventually lead to the use of armed force and a disrupted power balance in Russian border areas.