(Baku) Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused $71 billion in environmental damage and led to a massive increase in greenhouse gas emissions, a Ukrainian minister said Tuesday at COP29 in Baku.
Posted at 2:08 p.m.
“Nature is a silent victim of this war,” said Svetlana Grinchuk, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources.
The impact on climate, including the destruction of forests that naturally balance carbon emissions, shows that the consequences of the war affect “not only Ukraine, but the whole world”, she told participants. journalists.
According to the Ukrainian government, the environmental cost of the war is $71 billion. The conflict also released some 180 million tonnes of carbon, she said.
In 2023, the United Nations Development Program estimated the environmental damage caused by the war in Ukraine at $56 billion.
According to the latest Ukrainian estimates, military activities themselves caused 51.6 million tonnes of carbon emissions, with an additional 56 million tonnes needed to rebuild infrastructure after the war. The fires are also responsible for 27.2 million tonnes of carbon equivalent.
According to the minister, the Russian invasion damaged three million hectares of forests.
The remarks came as Russia hit Ukrainian energy facilities in new aerial bombardments, plunging millions of people into darkness.
Russia and Ukraine have both intensified their attacks, as they anticipate a probable change of attitude on the part of the new American administration of President-designate Donald Trump who could give up, after his inauguration at the end of January 2025, to support militarily Kyiv.
“All Ukrainians have become, in a very short time, very energy efficient,” underlined Mr.me Grinchuk, according to which Kyiv is aware of climate issues as part of the country’s reconstruction, with small-scale renewable energy projects being deemed more sustainable in the face of the Russian threat.
Ukraine, which aspires to join the European Union, has committed to achieving the goal of zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
