Environmental safety and green myths

The problem of global climate change and depletion of natural resources makes environmental security a key issue, directly linking them to public health and the quality of life of the population. Environmental security is a complex interdisciplinary field, uniting economics, ecology, and sociology. This article aims to identify existing contradictions in the understanding of the problem of environmental security. To this end, the complex nature of the phenomenon is analyzed, which is considered as a multi-level (global, regional, national, local) and multi-component phenomenon, including resource, institutional-legal, economic-technological, and socio-cultural elements. Differences in the understanding of environmental security and the measures to achieve it actualize the need for a comprehensive sociological analysis, while existing studies often demonstrate fragmentation, focusing on economic, technical aspects and supervision, but ignoring a significant number of social aspects, including the impact on public health and the quality of life of the population. A critical analysis of the international agenda reveals the neocolonial nature of the dominant model of environmental security imposed by the countries of the Global North. This model, based on the concept of sustainable development, manipulates public «green sentiment» through «green myths» and ecofakes, masking economic interests and the desire to maintain global inequality. The authors systematize and analyze the most common «ecofakes» such as electric vehicles, e-waste, «eco-cities», and others. The article argues that the global environmental agenda, replete with myths and illusions, serves to protect the interests of Western powers and entrench neocolonial development logic, while the brunt of the consequences of the climate crisis falls on the populations of the Global South. To ensure genuine environmental security, it is necessary to abandon the aggressive imposition of an alien «green» course and focus on socioeconomic development and financing adaptation to climate change.

1. Adorno T., Khorkkhaimer M. Dialektika Prosveshcheniya. Filosofskie fragmenty [Dialectic of Enlightenment. Philosophical Fragments]. SPb., 1997 (in Russian).

2. Akhmedov R.M., Ivanova Yu.A., Morodumov R.N. K voprosu ob ekologicheskoi bezopasnosti [On the issue of environmental safety] // Vestnik ekonomicheskoi bezopasnosti. 2019. N 4. P. 108–110. URL: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/k-voprosu-ob-ekologicheskoy-bezopasnosti (accessed: 12.11.2025) (in Russian).

3. Amaral M.H. et al. Environmental injustices on green and blue infrastructure: Urban nexus in a macrometropolitan territory // Journal of Cleaner Production. 2021. Vol. 289. URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.125829 (accessed: 23.11.2025).

4. Anguelovski I. et al. Green gentrification in European and North American cities // Nature communications. 2022. Vol. 13. N 1.

5. Anguelovski I., Connolly J., Masip L., Pearsall H. Assessing environmental gentrification impacts of neighborhood greening in historically disenfranchised areas: A longitudinal and spatial analysis through the municipal area of Barcelona // Urban Geography. 2017. N 3.

6. Bandurin A.P., Bandurin V.A., Samygin S.I. Sotsiokul’turnye faktory ispol’zovaniya vodnykh resursov v kontekste ekologicheskoi bezopasnosti sovremennoi tsivilizatsii [Sociocultural factors of water resources use in the context of environmental safety of modern civilization]. M., 2021 (in Russian).

7. Beck U., Giddens A., Lash S. Reflexive modernization: politics, tradition and aesthetics in the modern social order. Cambridge, 1994.

8. Belousova V.P., Belousov A.L. Ekologicheskaya bezopasnost’ kak sostavnoi komponent ekonomicheskoi bezopasnosti predpriyatiya [Environmental safety as an integral component of the economic security of an enterprise] // Vestnik Yuzhno-Rossiiskogo gosudarstvennogo tekhnicheskogo universiteta (NPI). Seriya: Sotsial’no-ekonomicheskie nauki. 2024. Vol. 17. N 3. P. 76–85 (in Russian).

9. Bendix R. Kings or people: power and the mandate to rule. Berkeley, 1980.

10. Bengtsson M., Alfredsson E., Cohen M., Lorek S., Schroeder P. Transforming systems of consumption and production for achieving the sustainable development goals: Moving beyond efficiency // Sustainability Science. 2018. N 13. P. 1533–1547.

11. Bibri S.E. et al. Smarter eco-cities and their leading-edge artificial intelligence of things solutions for environmental sustainability: a comprehensive systematic review // Environmental Science and Ecotechnology. 2024. Vol. 19. P. 1–31.

12. Bol’sherotov A.L. Osnovnye pokazateli otsenki ekologicheskoi bezopasnosti stroitel’stva [Key indicators for assessing the environmental safety of construction] // Sotsiologiya goroda. 2020. N 2. P. 26–35 (in Russian).

13. Boretti A. Green façades, enduring dependencies: European Union’s battery and hydrogen strategies as modern neocolonialism // International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. 2025. Vol. 129. P. 193–198.

14. Brand U. The Global Political Economy of the imperial mode of living // Global Political Economy. 2022. Vol 1. P. 26–37.

15. Caprotti F. Critical research on eco-cities? A walk through the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City, China // Cities. 2014. Vol. 36. P. 10–17.

16. Caprotti F. Eco-cities and the transition to low carbon economies. L., 2014.

17. Cole H.V.S. et al. Are green cities healthy and equitable? Unpacking the relationship between health, green space and gentrification // Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 2017. Vol. 71. N 11. С. 1118–1121.

18. Cugurullo F. How to build a sandcastle: an analysis of the genesis and development of Masdar City // Journal of Urban Technology. 2013. Vol. 20. N 1. P. 23–37.

19. Devine J.A., Baca J.A. The political forest in the era of green neoliberalism // Antipode. 2020. Vol. 52. N 4. P. 911–927.

20. Doğan B., Ghosh S., Hoang D.P., Chu L.K. Are economic complexity and eco-innovation mutually exclusive to control energy demand and environmental quality in E7 and G7 countries? // Technology in Society. 2022. N 68. DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2022.101867.

21. Duckert L. Arcticologies: early modern actions for our warmer world. Minneapolis, 2025.

22. Eizenshtadt Sh. Revoliutsiia i preobrazovanie obshchestv. Sravnitel’noe izuchenie tsivilizatsii [Revolution and the Transformation of Societies: A Comparative Study of Civilizations]. M., 1999 (in Russian).

23. Electronic waste generation worldwide in 2022, with a projection for 2030. URL: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1067081/generation-electronic-waste-globally-forecast/ (accessed: 25.11.2025).

24. Eprintsev S.A., Kurolap S.A., Klepikov O.V., Shekoian S.V. Otsenka vozdeistviya tekhnogennogo zagriazneniia vozdushnoi sredy na mediko-demograficheskie protsessy krupnykh urbanizirovannykh regionov [Assessment of the impact of technogenic air pollution on medico-demographic processes in large urbanized regions] // Geopolitika i ekogeodinamika regionov. 2020. Vol. 6. N 3. P. 43–50 (in Russian).

25. European Alternative Fuels Observatory. URL: https://transport.ec.europa.eu/news-events/news/europeans-are-generally-positive-towards-e-mobility-2024-06-20_en (accessed: 25.11.2025).

26. European Standard EN 50419 (PDF). European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization. Retrieved 9 April 2012. URL: https://it-recycle.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Wheelie_Bin_Marking.pdf (accessed: 25.11.2025).

27. Europeans are generally positive towards e-mobility. European Alternative Fuels Observatory. URL: https://transport.ec.europa.eu/news-events/news/europeans-are-generally-positive-towards-e-mobility-2024-06-20_en (accessed: 25.11.2025).

28. Federal’nyi zakon “Ob okhrane okruzhayushchei sredy” [Federal Law “On Environmental Protection”]. 2001.26.12. URL: http://pravo.gov.ru/proxy/ips/?docbody=&nd=102074303 (data obrascheniya: 26.11.2025) (in Russian).

29. Glukhikh M.V. Analiz mediko-demograficheskoi situatsii regionov RF s raznymi urovniami urbanizatsii v sviazi s sotsial’no-ekonomicheskim statusom naseleniia [Analysis of the medico-demographic situation in the regions of the Russian Federation with different levels of urbanization in connection with the socioeconomic status of the population] // Analiz riska zdorov’iu – 2023: materiały XIII Vserossiiskoi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii. Perm’, 2023. Т. 1. S. 100–109 (in Russian).

30. Gómez Vilchez J.J., Thiel C. The effect of reducing electric car purchase incentives in the European Union // World Electric Vehicle Journal. 2019. Vol. 10. N 4.

31. Gorina E.A., Burdiak A.Ia. Vzgliad na kachestvo zhizni naseleniia skvoz’ prizmu gorodskoi sredy [A view on the quality of life of the population through the prism of the urban environment] // Sotsiologiia goroda. 2015. N 2. P. 11–31 (in Russian).

32. Gureev P.M., Faiustov A.A., Prokhorova I.S. K voprosu o tenovoi utilizatsii elektronnykh otkhodov [On the shadow disposal of electronic waste] // Ekologiia i promyshlennost’ Rossii. 2021. Vol. 25. N 4. P. 66–71 (in Russian).

33. Jameson F. Postmodernizm, ili kul’turnaia logika pozdnego kapitalizma [Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism]. M., 2019 (in Russian).

34. Khashchenko N.N. i dr. Ekologicheskoe blagopoluchie kak komponent tsennostnogo soznaniia lichnosti: programma issledovaniia [Environmental well-being as a component of personal value consciousness: a research program] // Ekopsikhologicheskie issledovaniia–6: ekologiia detstva i psikhologiia ustojchivogo razvitiia. 2020. N 6. S. 81–85 (in Russian).

35. Kleerekoper L., Esch M. van, Salcedo T.B. How to make a city climate-proof, addressing the urban heat island effect // Resources, Conservation & Recycling. 2012. N 64. P. 30–38.

36. Kocsis D., Kiss J.T., Arpad I.W. Evaluating battery electric vehicle usage in the EU: A comparative study based on member state energy mixes // Heliyon. 2024. Vol. 10. N 9.

37. Koriukova Iu.D., Daineko L.V. Kachestvo gorodskoi sredy gorodov Rossii: analiz, dinamika, napravleniia razvitiia [The quality of the urban environment of Russian cities: analysis, dynamics, development directions] // Mezhdunarodnyi nauchno-issledovatel'skii zhurnal. 2024. N 5(143). URL: https://research-journal.org/archive/5-143-2024-may/10.60797/IRJ.2024.143.149 (data obrascheniya: 03.06.2024) (in Russian).

38. Leino H., Wallin A., Laine M. Eco-gentrification in a welfare state: how sustainable city development gradually reduces social equity // Urban Affairs Review. 2025. Vol. 61. N 1. P. 70–93.

39. Malm A. Who lit this fire? Approaching the history of the fossil economy // Critical Historical Studies. 2016. N 3(2). P. 215–248. DOI: 10.1086/688347.

40. Memon M., Rossi C. A review of EV adoption, charging standards, and charging infrastructure growth in Europe and Italy // Batteries. 2025. Vol 11. N 6.

41. Moore B. Social origins of dictatorship and democracy: Lord and peasant in the making of the modern world. Harmondsworth, 1969.

42. Navarro R. Climate finance and neo-colonialism: exposing hidden dynamics // The Political Economy of Climate Finance: Lessons from International Development. International Political Economy Series / Ed. by C. Cash, L.A. Swatuk. Cham, 2022.

43. Osipova N.G. Neravenstvo v epokhu globalizatsii: sushchnost’, instituty, regional’naia spetsifika i dinamika [Inequality in the era of globalization: essence, institutions, regional specifics and dynamics] // Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriia 18: Sotsiologiia i politologiia. 2014. N 2 (in Russian).

44. Parajuly K. et al. Behavioral change for the circular economy: a review with focus on electronic waste management in the EU // Resources, Conservation & Recycling: X. 2020. Vol. 6.

45. Prebish R. Periferiinyi kapitalizm: est’ li emu alternativa? [Peripheral Capitalism: Is There an Alternative?]. M., 1992 (in Russian).

46. Register R. Ecocity Berkeley: building cities for a healthy future. Berkeley, 1987.

47. Remme D. et al. Electric vehicle paradise? Exploring the value chains of green extractivism // International Development Policy. Revue internationale de politique de développement. 2023. N 16.

48. Rezoliutsiia General’noi Assamblei OON, priniataia 25 sentiabria 2015 goda [United Nations General Assembly Resolution adopted on 25 September 2015]. URL: https://docs.un.org/ru/A/RES/70/1 (data obrascheniya: 25.11.2025) (in Russian).

49. Roszkowska E., Wachowicz T. Smart cities and resident well-being: using the BTOPSIS method to assess citizen life satisfaction in European cities // Applied Sciences. 2024. Vol. 14. N 23.

50. Santos B.D.S. Epistemologies of the South: justice against epistemicide. N.Y., 2015.

51. Sesini G., Castiglioni C., Lozza E. New trends and patterns in sustainable consumption: A systematic review and research agenda // Sustainability. 2020. Vol. 12.

52. Sherapova S.Kh., Malkova U.A., Nikitskaya E.F. Ekologicheskaya bezopasnost’ regiona s pozitsii obespecheniya natsional’noi bezopasnosti (na primere Tyumenskoi oblasti) [Environmental security of the region from the standpoint of ensuring national security (on the example of the Tyumen region)] // Vestnik nauki. 2021. T. 3. N 12(45). S. 111–123 (in Russian).

53. Shtatilov A.B. Ekologiia i politika: destruktivnye aspekty ideologii ekologizma i deiatel’nosti ekologicheskikh organizatsii [Ecology and Politics: Destructive Aspects of the Ideology of Environmentalism and the Activities of Environmental Organizations] // Gumanitarnye nauki. Vestnik Finansovogo universiteta. 2019. N 4 (in Russian).

54. Shtompka P. Sotsiologiia sotsial’nykh izmenenii [The Sociology of Social Change]. M., 1996 (in Russian).

55. Shul’ts V.V., Tolmacheva E.R. Problema obespecheniya ekologicheskoi bezopasnosti v sisteme ekonomicheskoi bezopasnosti gosudarstva [The problem of ensuring environmental safety in the system of economic security of the state] // Vestnik nauki. 2024. T. 2. N 10(79). S. 190–193 (in Russian).

56. Sokolova A.A. Problemy ekologicheskoi bezopasnosti i situatsionnoe modelirovanie pri likvidatsii posledstvii radiatsionnoi avarii [Problems of environmental safety and situational modeling in the aftermath of a radiation accident] // Vestnik Grodnenskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta imeni Yanki Kupaly. Seriya 6. Tekhnika. 2024. T. 14. N 1. S. 73–80 (in Russian).

57. Sousa-Silva R., Zanocco C. Assessing public attitudes towards urban green spaces as a heat adaptation strategy: Insights from Germany // Landscape and Urban Planning. 2024. Vol. 245.

58. Ukaz Prezidenta Rossiiskoi Federatsii ot 19.04.2017 g. N 176 «O Strategii ekologicheskoi bezopasnosti Rossiiskoi Federatsii na period do 2025 goda» [Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of April 19, 2017 N 176 “On the Strategy for the Environmental Security of the Russian Federation for the Period until 2025”]. URL: http://www.kremlin.ru/acts/bank/41879 (accessed: 26.11.2025) (in Russian).

59. UNFCCC: UN Climate Change Conference—United Arab Emirates UNFCCC. URL: https://unfccc.int/cop28 (accessed: 22.11.2025).

60. V Pekine proshel VII Rossiisko-Kitaiskii energeticheskii biznes-forum [The VII Russian-Chinese Energy Business Forum was held in Beijing] // Rosneft’. 2025.25.11. URL: https://www.rosneft.ru/press/news/item/223185/ (accessed: 26.11.2025) (in Russian).

61. Vallerstein I., Collins R., Mann M., Derluguian G., Kalkhun K. Est’ li budushchee u kapitalizma? [Does Capitalism Have a Future?]. M., 2015 (in Russian).

62. Vershinina I.A., Liadova A.V., Martynenko T.S., Grigor’eva E.A. Neokolonial’noe izmerenie zelenoi ekonomiki [Neocolonial Dimension of the Green Economy] // Vek globalizatsii. 2025. N 1. S. 139–150. DOI: 10.30884/vglob/2025.01.12 (in Russian).

63. Vershinina I.A., Martynenko T.S. Neravenstvo v sovremennom mire: obzor mezhdunarodnykh dokladov [Inequality in the Modern World: A Review of International Reports] // Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriia 18. Sotsiologiia i politologiia. 2016. N 3 (in Russian).

64. Yandyganov Ya.Ya., Vlasova E.Ya., Nikulina N.L. Ekologicheskaya bezopasnost’ regiona (sotsial’no-ekologo-ekonomicheskii aspekt) [Environmental security of the region (socio-ecological and economic aspect)] // Regional’naya ekonomika. 2015. S. 144–153 (in Russian).

65. Zaborova E.N. Gorodskaia sreda kak faktor razvitiia chelovecheskogo kapitala [Urban environment as a factor of human capital development] // Upravlenets. 2017. N 6 (70). S. 65–71 (in Russian).

66. Zografos C. The contradictions of Green New Deals: green sacrifice and colonialism // Soundings. 2022. Vol. 80. P. 37–50.