Last year, the volume of greenhouse gas emissions caused by military operations increased by 30% and reached 230 million tons of CO2 equivalent since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
These figures were announced by Svitlana Krakovska, Head of the Laboratory of Applied Climatology at the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Institute, at the opening of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) session in Hangzhou, China.
These are the results of the scientists' assessment of greenhouse gas emissions caused by the war in Ukraine. The study was conducted by the non-profit Initiative for Accounting for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Russia's War. It estimates Russia's responsibility for these emissions at more than $42 billion. For the calculations, experts used the “social price of carbon” of $185 per ton of CO2 equivalent.
“Today I represent Ukraine, as I have been doing for over 10 years. It so happened that on this tragic day for Ukraine and the whole world, I am back at the IGC session. Three years ago, I was the head of the delegation and said on behalf of Ukraine that we will not give up, that the cause of climate change and the ability of Russia to accumulate resources for war is the painful dependence of humanity on fossil fuels,” Svitlana Krakovska said in her speech.
The Ukrainian climatologist emphasized that the war in our country has both a direct and indirect impact on the climate around the world. The direct impact is due to significant greenhouse gas emissions caused by hostilities, fires, and infrastructure destruction. The indirect impact is expressed in the underfunding of climate programs due to increased spending on armaments. This significantly slows down the fight against climate change.
At the opening of the session, the Deputy Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization, Coe Barrett, reminded that 2024 was the hottest year on record, with global temperatures reaching about 1.55°C above pre-industrial levels.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine emphasized the need for the world to realize that the fight for climate security and peace are interconnected tasks that require joint action and responsibility of the international community.
Recently, EcoPolitic reported that the German Federal Intelligence Service sees climate change as a threat to the existence of the EU.
We also said that global warming could hinder the development of wind energy in Europe.
