Territorialisation, Urbanisation, and Economic Development in the Russian Arctic: Energy Issues

Abstract

For the past ten years, energy issues—alongside the policies implemented to address them—have once again been at the heart of development issues in the Arctic and circumpolar regions. The reasons for this situation are based on the intensification of the exploitation of natural resources, for which the impacts of climate change (warming) are perceived as opportunities, thereby accelerating economic development and the reterritorialisation of the Arctic space. The policies linked to the energy transition are driven by both ecology and the need to have autonomous production unit grids reinforcing the interrelations between territorial development and energy. Energy production units—whether wind, solar, gas, coal, nuclear, or sometimes hydroelectric—are key drivers of economic development in the Arctic and circumpolar space, determining the exploitation of future natural resources and human security. Without energy planning, there can be no economic growth, no human development, and no territorial development. Energy safety is fundamental for the territorial development of the Russian Arctic. The analysis of the Russian Arctic space by remote sensing shows intense urbanisation processes accompanying the exploitation of natural resources.