The Eurasian Climate Brief

Melting glaciers are often regarded as icons of climate change. But how were they viewed in the early days of glaciology and, more specifically, climate change research? When and how did scientific research of the Central Asian glaciers begin? And why is this still relevant for us today? Angelina speaks to environmental historian and a historian of science Dr. Katja Doose about the history of glac...

The Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek ranks among the largest cities in all of Central Asia. Located close to the country's border with Kazakhstan, it lies just off the northern fringe of the Kyrgyz Ala-Too Range. While contributing to a scenic panorama, these geographic factors also challenge the city's urbanistic ambitions. A largely fossil-based energy generation, a seemingly opaque urban spr...

Lake Balkhash is the 14th largest lake in the world and one of the largest in Asia. Its ecological importance is matched by the number of threats it has been facing for decades: copper mining, hydropower, agricultural development – and now a nuclear power plant. How to reach local communities and experts, scientists and policy-makers, cultural institutions, businesses, and the wider public in orde...

Central Asia is among the world's most vulnerable regions to climate change. Already today, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are facing various climate consequences: from droughts to landslides, from glacier melts to flash floods. At the same time, this region's energy landscape contains almost all energy sources from fossil to renewables; to a varying degr...

Central Asia is among the world's most vulnerable regions to climate change. And while some of the Central Asian countries are heavily reliant on fossil fuels, there is potential for renewable energy across this entire part of the world. Let's have a closer look at electricity today. Who are the main drivers of the energy transition? Is cross-border cooperation happening? Are the grids r...

Today, we are introducing you to two people at the forefront of activism and resistance to very concrete environmental issues in their home countries, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Boris talks to Bermet Borubaeva, urban environment analyst, artist and founder of the initiative #BishkekSmog, on her struggle for clean air in the Kyrgyz capital, the preservation of public transport infrastructure and ed...

The green transition aims to overcome fossil dependencies. But what about the materials required for renewable energy? And why are the EU and others actors so interested in Central Asia? Join Angelina and Boris as they explore with Almaty-based political scientist Asel Doolotkeldieva , Dmitry Kalmykov from the Kazakh NGO Karaganda Ecological Museum, and Cecilia Mattea of IRMA (Initiative for Respo...

The 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) ended in late November in Baku. Two weeks of intense climate negotiations unveiled deep divides—particularly between the Global North and South over climate finance and contentious debates on the right wording of transitioning away from fossil fuels. In this episode Angelina Davydova and Boris Schneider dissect the outcomes of the conference, offering...

This year's UN Climate Change Conference (COP29 in Baku) is just a few days away. Against armed conflicts around the world, geopolitical uncertainty and an accelerating climate crisis, the podcast returns from its year-long hiatus to look at what COP29 will be all about, focusing on the Central Asian delegations. Angelina and Boris also speak to Aliya Wedelich , media coordinator for CAN EECC...

This week, the Eurasian Climate Brief team heads to the Balkans, Bulgaria, to look into the cracks of the European Union's carbon market (a.k.a., EU ETS). In July 2021, an investigation by Eleonora Vio and Daniela Sala for the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) found that two Bulgarian power plants appeared to have under-declared their carbon emissions. If true, this wou...

Climate change affects almost all sectors of human societies and life. One underrated and underreported consequence of the climate crisis is taking so-called climate migration - displacement due to climate change. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) predicts the number of "environmental migrants" in 2050 to be between 25 million and 1 billion. To find out more about this t...

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Russian civil society has faced increasing repression at home. The environmental movement is no exception. While they kept communication channels open before the war, feeding the outside world precious data on the state of Russia's forests, permafrost and Arctic, large mainstream NGOs such as WWF, Greenpeace and Bellona have all been declared undesirab...

Air pollution has blighted Serbia for years. This is due to the country’s heavy reliance on coal, which in 2021 powered around 70% of its electricity.  Old diesel-powered vehicles and authorities move to tamper with air pollution criteria have also been part of the problem. In turn, activists have taken to the streets and courts. Our correspondents Lizi Auskery and Milivoje Pantović discuss the si...

It’s been a year since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The war has killed hundreds of thousands both sides included and displaced millions of Ukrainians, while plunging the rest of Europe into an energy crisis.  Its environmental impacts have also been devastating, ranging from military chemical contamination and emissions to nuclear threats. In Russia, the government's swing...

The Eurasian Climate Brief team gets together to look back on the top climate stories that have taken place during 2022 across Eastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia. From to the consequences of Russia's war in Ukraine for the global energy market and climate movement, to the hopeful rise of Ukrainian climate activism and low-carbon strategies in Central Asia, join us for uniqu...

A little more than two weeks after the end of COP27, the Eurasian Climate Brief team takes stock on what the summit in Sharm El-Cheikh has achieved, and where it fell short: How significant is the deal on the ‘loss and damage’ fund, aimed at compensating developing countries for irreversible climate impacts? And what progress has made, if any, in the fight to phase out fossil fuels? Needless to sa...

As COP27 draws to a close, we take another deep dive into the impacts of Russia’s war against Ukraine on the climate negotiations and climate action at large. What were Moscow's priorities this year? How has the Russian delegation been treated by the rest of the climate community throughout the summit? Maria Pastukhova, a senior policy analyst at the climate think tank E3G, and Anna Korppoo,...

Just a year ago, in the run-up to COP26 in Glasgow, we published the first Eurasian Climate Brief episode. With this year's COP on the doorstep - this time in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt - we are now bringing you the first installment in our special COP27 series. Angelina and Boris speak to Baktygul Chynybaeva, a journalist and communicator with CAN EECCA, the Climate Action Network in Eastern Eur...

The six Western Balkan countries are struggling to embrace the EU’s plan on green energy. Albania produces almost all its electricity from hydropower plants, but at what cost to the environment? The construction of hydroelectric plants in the Librazhd area is destroying the ecosystem of the Shebenik-Jabllanice National Park. Some of the country’s hydroelectric power plants have been established wi...

In late September, four leaks were detected in the gas pipelines linking Russia to Europe, Nord Stream 2 and Nord Stream 1.  The incidents, were, in all likelihood, an act of sabotage. In a joint letter to the UN Security Council, Denmark and Sweden declared that they were caused by "at least two detonations" with "several hundred kilos" of explosives, causing major leaks of na...

Energy prices were rocked by the Russian invasion, with Aluminium and Nickel prices increasing sharply in the first two weeks after the conflict began with the latter up by more than 100 percent.  Fears around the disruption to supply and concerns about soaring energy prices that could halt production in Europe are being blamed for the hikes. Other metals of interest in this war include titanium,...

In September 2019, Russia formally joined the Paris Agreement,  raising hopes the world's fourth emitter would finally throw its weight behind global decarbonisation efforts. The move followed years of lobbying from European governments, including Germany, France and Scandinavian countries. Nearly 3 years later, the Kremlin's war on Ukraine appears to have severely undermined climate act...

The Eurasian Climate Brief is a podcast dedicated to climate issues in the region stretching from Eastern Europe to Russia down to the Caucasus and Central Asia. In this episode, we're speaking with Bill Hare, a physicist and climate scientist with 30 years’ experience in science, impacts and policy responses to climate change and stratospheric ozone depletion. He is a founder and CEO of Clim...

The Eurasian Climate Brief is a podcast dedicated to climate issues in the region stretching from Eastern Europe to Russia down to the Caucasus and Central Asia. In this episode, we're speaking with one of the world’s top Russian energy experts, Thane Gustafson. How has the war in Ukraine has reshaped the global energy trade? And, could it help accelerate the energy transition? Thane is a pro...

One and a half months have passed since Russia invaded Ukraine from the South, the East and Belarus. This is the second episode in our special series on the environmental impacts of the war. On this episode we discuss the nuclear risks and hazards surrounding the war in Ukraine. With us today is Andriy Martynyuk, Executive Director of the NGO Ecoclub in Rivne, Western Ukraine. An environmental eng...