March 29. 2024. 1:53

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Understanding the environmental cost of the Ukraine war


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After the world celebrated Earth Day on Saturday (22 April), now is a good moment to take stock of the environmental destruction brought by the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine.

Russia’s full-scale military aggression against Ukraine, launched just over a year ago, has resulted in hundreds of thousands of casualties and devastated the country’s economy and environment.

According to an international assessment, the cost of reconstruction has grown to €383 billion as of 24 February 2023.

In addition to the immeasurable human suffering, the war has significantly harmed Ukraine’s environment and biodiversity, slowed progress towards climate targets and sustainable development goals (SDGs) and even reversed some previous gains.

Ukraine occupies less than 6% of Europe’s land mass but is home to 35% of its biodiversity. Thanks to its favourable location, it is home to more than 74,000 plant and animal species, many rare, relict, and endemic, including European bison and brown bears, lynx, wolves and sturgeon.

Since the beginning of the war, Russian forces have targeted a range of crucial infrastructures such as chemical plants, water facilities, nuclear power plants, fields, forests, and wildlife reserves – causing destruction, biodiversity loss and pollution along the way.

The Ukrainian criminal code foresees imprisonment sentences to punish those causing environmental disasters, including the “mass destruction of flora and fauna, poisoning of air or water resources”. The country’s environment minister, Ruslan Strilets, is resolute in holding Russia accountable for the devastating impact of the war on the region’s natural environment.

“Our state is a habitat of about 74,000 species of flora and fauna. By destroying our home, Russia is also destroying their home. Russian occupiers are trying to destroy all of Ukraine, thus endangering more than a third of Europe’s biodiversity,” Strilets said during his speech in Montreal at COP15.

To date, 2,369 consequences of military actions with a severe negative impact on the environment have been registered on the EcoZagroza platform, set up by the ministry and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to collect reports of environmental damage.

Due to the war, 20% of protected natural areas were damaged, and approximately 80 animal species are at risk of extinction. Russians have taken control of 10 national parks, eight reserves, and two biosphere reserves, and in some of these areas, they are permitting the hunting of protected animals.

Among the many environmental casualties of the war are dolphins, with hundreds of them found dead along the shores of the Black Sea.

Scientists have attributed this to several factors, such as the harmful effects of sonar, which damages their ability to hunt, as well as the usage of phosphorus incendiaries which causes burns on their bodies. Additionally, explosions caused by the conflict can result in dolphins experiencing embolisms and decompression sickness, leading them to rise to the surface.

A recent report by the Kyiv School of Economics depicts a horrible situation where environmental pollution has risen sharply as hundreds of industrial enterprises and critical infrastructure sites have been damaged.

Forests have also suffered significant damage, with fires caused by ammunition explosions or deliberate arson related to warfare tactics. In addition, significant forest areas have suffered from mechanical damage caused by military manoeuvres and ammunition explosions, which leads to the weakening or death of forest plantations.

Some 298,000 hectares of forest and 1,438,000 hectares of grass fires were recorded in the combat zone, which, together with the burning of oil products, caused significant air pollution estimated at 5.5 million tonnes of pollutants since the start of the war.

Holding Russia accountable

Ukrainian authorities have drawn attention to the environmental damage caused by the war since its very beginning. If the country succeeds in its attempt to recognise ecological damage, this could set a precedent for reinforcing an international mechanism against environmental crimes in military conflicts.

However, building a case against Russia in this sense is not easy, as the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute explains.

The International Criminal Court does not recognise ecocide as an international crime under the Rome Statute.

While international humanitarian law does prohibit the employment of “methods or means of warfare which are intended, or may be expected, to cause widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment”, the absence of specific thresholds for these criteria, however, is a challenge when building a case.

There are also precedents of compensation for environmental destruction at international level. In 1991, the United Nations Security Council required Iraq to provide reparations for the devastation caused during its aggression towards Kuwait, including environmental damage and the exhaustion of natural resources.

However, due to Russia’s veto power in the Security Council, this solution is not feasible in the current conflict, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

And even if the European Union is now promising a ‘Marshall Plan for Ukraine’, restoring the biodiversity and ecosystems that have been devastated, cleaning up the polluted soil, water, and air, as well as addressing the CO2 emissions that are undermining climate goals, will likely require several decades, if not longer.

“There can be no effective climate policy without peace on the Earth,” said the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during a speech at COP27.

Perhaps now is a good moment to consider the inclusion of ecocide in the list of international crimes punishable under international law, similar to what is currently being considered in the EU.


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North Sea countries aim for 300 GW of offshore wind energy by 2050

Nine European countries signed the Ostend Declaration on Monday (24 April), aiming to jointly produce at least 120 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030 and at least 300 gigawatts by 2050 in the North Sea.

Campaigners hail ‘historic’ day as Parliament adopts EU anti-deforestation law

The European Parliament voted on Wednesday (19 April) in favour of a landmark regulation to ensure that products sold in the EU do not come from deforested or degraded land.

German government adopts fossil boiler ban, starting 2024

The German government has adopted a law that would see new fossil heating installations banned from 2024, following a month-long row over the level of state support and pushback from business-friendly FDP lawmakers.


LJUBLJANA. Farmers’ protest over ‘radical environmentalists’ brings Ljubljana to a halt. Several thousand farmers and an estimated 1,500 tractors from around the country gathered for their second rally in a month to protest against environmental and other restrictions on farming, effectively bringing Slovenia’s capital to a halt on Tuesday. Read more.

VIENNA. Austria will miss climate targets despite Green government involvement. After a report by the Federal Environment Agency revealed that Austria will fall short of reaching its climate targets, the governing Greens blamed their conservative coalition partner, telling EURACTIV they are often left alone in parliament when it comes to concrete decisions. Read more.

OSLO. EU, Norway seal ‘Green Alliance’ to tackle climate change. The European Union and Norway signed a ‘Green Alliance’ on Monday, committing to work together to combat climate change, protect nature, and develop the technologies needed to transition away from fossil fuels. Read more.

BRUSSELS. Belgium remains opposed to French offshore wind farm construction. Belgium remains opposed to France’s plans to build a wind farm off the coast of Dunkirk, North Sea Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne reaffirmed on the sidelines of the North Sea Summit in Ostend on Monday. Read more.

BERLIN. Tensions rise as climate activists intensify road blocks in Berlin. Radical climate activists of the group “Letzte Generation” (“Last Generation”) blocked at least 35 main roads in Berlin on Monday – a step up in action that high-ranking politicians condemned. Read more.

THE HAGUE | LONDON. Netherlands, UK to announce major new power link to boost energy security. Plans for a new power line to link both countries and offshore wind turbines in the North Sea, to increase energy security and boost renewable power will be announced by the Netherlands and the UK on Monday. Read more.


  • Berlin considers withdrawing support for EU buildings directive – Nikolaus J. Kurmayer
  • Europe on fire: Wildfire trends in the EU and how to prevent them – Esther Snippe and Valentina Romano
  • Three years later, a first stock-take of France’s anti-waste law – Paul Messad
  • EU eyes ‘billions’ worth in flexibility from local electricity grids – Frédéric Simon
  • Meet the MP who led an inquiry into France’s energy sovereignty – Paul Messad
  • Pressure mounts on EU to sanction Rosatom in next Russia sanctions package – Alexandra Brzozowski

$130 billion needed every year to avoid deforestation: study. The cost of protecting forests at high risk of deforestation by 2030 would be more than $130 billion per year, according to a new study by the global Energy Transitions Commission (ETC).

The ETC’s new report, ‘Financing the transition: the costs of avoiding deforestation’, estimates the order of magnitude of concessional and grant payments required to compensate landowners for not cutting down tropical forests for profit (e.g., to raise cattle or grow commodities). Currently, the domestic and international total amount of finance destined at protecting forests is just $2-3 billion a year, the report finds.

The estimated required amount of $130 billion is simply too substantial, and it is not reasonable to assume that concessional and grant payments on such a massive scale, which would be funded by corporations through voluntary carbon markets, philanthropy, and high-income countries, will ever materialise, the ETC says.

To halt deforestation, the report argues that a combination of financial and non-financial actions is required, including a reduction in consumer demand for the main products that make deforestation profitable – such as meat – and the development of alternative businesses which can profit from standing forests – for instance, eco-tourism and sustainable agroforestry. Additionally, governments have the responsibility to make deforestation illegal, combining this with effective enforcement.

“Without a significant flow of concessional/grant payments, any reduction in deforestation will come too late to make it possible to limit global warming to well below 2°C, let alone to 1.5°C. But finance alone cannot deliver an end to deforestation,” commented Adair Turner, Chair of the Energy Transitions Commission. Read the full report here. (Valentina Romano | EURACTIV.com)

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Renewable energies have lower metal footprint than fossil fuels: study. Renewable energy production does not necessitate a considerably greater amount of metals than fossil fuels, a recent study conducted by Berlin-based NGO PowerShift says. On the contrary, certain renewable energy technologies, including solar PV systems, exhibit substantially improved performance in terms of their metal footprint when compared to fossil fuel power plants.

Mining has a huge environmental impact, causing conflicts over water and land use, pollution, and the destruction of rainforests, and is also responsible for around 10 to 15% of global CO2 emissions, PowerShift says.

To address this, a “raw material transition” is needed, says the study, titled ‘Metals for the Energy Transition’. “This means, first, that metallic raw materials, including those needed for renewable energy technologies, must be mined under the highest possible environmental and social standards. In addition, it is essential to reduce the absolute consumption of metallic raw materials, for example through sector-specific targets,” says Michael Reckordt, PowerShift’s raw materials expert.

Alongside this, the expansion of a circular economy with a focus on durability, repairability, and product design geared toward the recycling of raw materials will be key. This is because many solar and wind power plants in Germany will be replaced in the next few years, resulting in large quantities of recycled scrap from this industry. Read more here and here. (Valentina Romano | EURACTIV.com)

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NGOs worried about public exclusion from national climate plans. Over 35 NGOs sent a letter to the European Commission on Thursday (20 April) expressing “serious concern” about the lack of opportunities for public participation in the drafting processes of EU member states’ updated National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs).

The plans are due for submission by June this year, covering the period from 2021 to 2030. According to the Governance Regulation, EU countries must put in place two types of consultation processes, but 14 out of 23 EU countries have yet to start any form of public consultation, a report by Climate Action Network Europe and WWF has found.

The civil society organisations are calling on the European Commission to use its influence and resources to address the lack of democratic decision-making and ensure countries respect the law and involve citizens in the NECPs process. Read the letter here. Full report available here. (Valentina Romano | EURACTIV.com)


  • Axing aluminium from the Critical Raw Materials list was a mistake – Anna-Michelle Asimakopoulou
  • This Eid might be last before climate crisis permanently alters Muslim World – Ibrahim Özdemir

MAY

  • 17 MAY. Measures to reduce the release of microplastics in the environment.

JUNE

  • JUNE. European Parliament Plenary vote on the EU Nature Restoration Law.
  • 3-11 JUNE. EU Green Week.
  • 19 JUNE. Energy Council.
  • 20 JUNE. Environment Council.
  • 21 JUNE. Greening transport package.
  • 29-30 JUNE. European Council.
  • 30 JUNE. Deadline for European Member States to update their revised National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs).

SECOND HALF OF 2023

  • Q4. Revision of REACH regulation.
  • 26-27 OCTOBER. European Council.
  • 30 NOVEMBER-12 DECEMBER. UN Climate Change Conference (COP 28), Dubai.
  • 14-15 DECEMBER. European Council.

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