Vladimir Potanin, received a public scolding from Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 5. The broadcast came just days after his mining company, Nornickel, spilled diesel into the Arctic. Vladimir Potanin’s sprawling Siberian mining operations make him the billionaire most exposed to the permafrost crisis. Vladimir Potanin, one of the 50 richest people on the planet, stood awkwardly on the Siberian tundra near the remote mining city of Norilsk. It had been less than a week since a spill that threatened to become one of Russia’s worst disasters in the Arctic, caused entirely by an aging fuel tank owned by his mining operations. The billionaire was about to receive a verbal lashing from Russian President Vladimir Putin in front of a national audience. The live broadcast was supposed to be a celebration of Ecologist’s Day, which meant the timing couldn’t have been worse. Nornickel, the […]