More than one-fourth of Russians remain skeptical of climate change despite the country being battered by intensifying natural disasters in recent years, according to a poll by the SuperJob job portal published Wednesday.
Superjob polled 1,600 “economically active” Russians aged 18 and older from Aug. 17-23, two weeks after United Nations climate scientists released a landmark report that “unequivocally” linked climate change to human activity. The poll was conducted as Russia grappled with unprecedented wildfires in Siberia that experts say were exacerbated by climate change.
Fifty-one percent of Russian respondents said they believe that climate change is real, a 2% increase from the last SuperJob survey in 2009.
But 26% of Russians do not believe that the climate crisis is real, compared to 33% in 2009.
“They most often explain their view from a ‘conspiracy theory’ position: ‘This is not global warming, but a global deceit of all mankind’,” Superjob said, “or ‘If it’s getting warmer, this warming isn’t necessarily caused by humans’.”
Another 23% of Russians said they aren’t sure whether they think climate change is real or not.
Younger adults in the 25-34 age group were most likely (55%) to describe the climate crisis as a real problem while those older than 45 were least likely (46%) to hold this view. The share of climate deniers remained roughly the same in each age group.
Men were more likely to say climate change isn’t real (30%) compared to 23% of women.
A UN People’s Climate Vote poll published in January said that 65% of Russians think the climate crisis is real. Unlike Superjob’s survey, the UN’s poll collected responses from people aged 14 and older.
Another poll, conducted in 2020 by the Russian state-run polling agency VTsIOM, said that 57% of adult Russians say they already feel the climate crisis’ impact on their daily lives.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
