Reading time: 2 minutes – Spotted on New Scientist
Starting a war of aggression is not only wrong and kills people, but it also pollutes. According to a group of experts, the first two years of the Russian invasion of Ukraine generated 175 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2).
The researchers calculated their impact to quantify and quantify the damage caused by this additional carbon footprint. They estimate that the addition would amount to 32 billion dollars in damage (nearly 30 billion euros). A sum that Ukraine intends to claim from Moscow in the form of reparations, indicates the online magazine New Scientist.
“This will be an essential part of the reparations case we are building against Russia”, said Ukrainian Environment Minister Ruslan Strilets. “This is the damage that will happen to the economy and societies due to extreme weather impacts due to climate change, which are the result of emissions“, says Lennard de Klerk, founder of the Initiative on Accounting for Greenhouse Gases Related to the War in Ukraine.
Global repercussions
A third of the total of these CO2 emissions would be linked to the reconstruction of what Russia destroyed in Ukraine: buildings, bridges and other infrastructure. Another third would have been generated by fuel used by the military.
14% of carbon emissions linked to the conflict can be explained by the bypassing of Ukrainian and Russian airspace by commercial flights: a Tokyo-London flight is thus extended by four hours via Canada. Finally, 13% comes from fires, whether linked to bombings or simply because firefighters cannot intervene.
“If this sum – which increases every day – were to be paid, part of it should go to Ukraine to finance measures such as forest restoration, to help recover some of the carbonassures Lennard de Klerk to New Scientist. Another part should be paid to countries hardest hit by global warming, for example through the Green Climate Fund [de l’ONU].”
The choice of this distribution promises to be eminently political. But another problem remains and not the least: how to make Russia pay?
