Velikaya N.M., Novozhenina O.P. (2022). Environmental threats as a factor promoting environmental consciousness. Economic and Social Changes: Facts, Trends, Forecast, 15(4), 209–227. DOI: 10.15838 ...

Òåêñò ñòàòüè íà ñàéòå æóðíàëà URL: http://esc.vscc.ac.ru/article/29356/full?_lang=ru (äàòà îáðàùåíèÿ 23.09.2022)

Abstract

The article examines changes in environmental consciousness, which depend on how environmental threats are presented and perceived in public opinion and public discourse in Russia. Using the theory of socio-cultural risks and threats, we consider the formation of the so-called environmental paradigm, which interprets environmental consciousness as part of public consciousness. Analyzing the inclusion of the environmental agenda in the domestic public and political discourse, we show show that since the 1990s Russian legislation has been guided by international documents in this area, and the Russian Federation has actively participated in all significant international environmental forums. The attack on the non-profit sector initiated by the state authorities in the 2010s significantly reduced the number of non-governmental organizations in the environmental sphere and affected the content of public discourse. The low level of awareness of the progress and content of the national project “Ecology” indicates insufficient interaction of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation with civil society institutions and representatives of local environmental initiatives. As a result, poor involvement of the population in environmental processes can potentially lead to the emergence of occasional environmental protests. The data of sociological studies show that public awareness of environmental threats is growing rather slowly and unevenly. In the overall rating of threats, environmental threats usually rank 3rd–4th, but this has a small effect on environmental behavior and on the formation of nature-saving social practices. We consider promoting environmental consciousness as a process of helping people to become more aware of anthropogenic risks and strive for a healthy ecological environment. The typological group of “responsible” individuals identified on the basis of this approach differs from the group of “indifferent” ones according to a number of socio-demographic and sociopolitical features and demonstrates weak positive dynamics.