Ukraine sent two dozen officials to the summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, to explain the links between the war launched by Russia in February, rising energy costs due to Russia’s position as a major supplier of natural gas and the planet – heating emissions emitted by the attack. Heavy shelling and the movement of troops and tanks have polluted the air, water and land, said Svitlana Grinchuk, Ukraine’s deputy environment minister, killing thousands of people and decimating the country’s economy. A fifth of Ukraine’s protected areas have been destroyed by the war, he added, with the contamination of previously fertile lands alone costing €11.4bn (£10bn) in damages. “It’s not just a war, it’s state terrorism and it’s ecocide,” Grinchuk said. “The invasion has killed wildlife, caused pollution and caused social instability. The terrorist state continues to send missiles at our power plants. Our environment is threatened because of this terrorist attack.” War causes emissions, as do its consequences. Ukraine estimates that rebuilding its destroyed towns, cities and industry will release nearly 50 million tons of carbon dioxide. “Military emissions in peacetime and in times of war are relative, they are material,” said Axel Michaelowa, a climate economist who has studied wartime pollution. “Emissions are comparable to those of entire countries.” Rallying international support to help drive Russia from its territory remains a priority for the Ukrainian government. In a video address to Cop27 delegates and world leaders on Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said “there can be no effective climate policy without peace”. But Ukraine is also touting its enthusiasm for a rapid transition to renewable energy, which it said would shake off the yoke of Russian fossil fuel dominance through which Vladimir Putin has used gas as a leverage point against Ukraine’s European allies. That stance was backed up at Cop27 by John Kerry, the US climate envoy, who said American and European leaders were “absolutely confident that this accelerates the transition” to clean energy. A dark pavilion set up by Ukraine in Sharm el-Sheikh looks more like a gray slate war memorial than the colorful displays other countries have put up for the 30,000 delegates at the conference. Samples of different soils blown up as Russian bombs hit the ground are framed on one wall. A piece of oak, riddled with bullets, is on display, taken from the Kiev suburb of Irpin, where the Russian attack resulted in the breach of a dam that flooded houses, forests and meadows, the report said. Svitlana Krakovska, Ukraine’s top climate scientist, said there was now a growing understanding that fossil fuels not only helped fund Putin’s war machine, but that dependence on oil and gas had left countries at the mercy of of rising energy and food costs. “I’m glad, at least, that the connection is now clear to many people,” said Krakovska, who was working on a key United Nations climate report when the war broke out and now has to endure power cuts for about 12 hours a day . in Kyiv due to a relentless barrage of Russian missile and drone attacks targeting urban infrastructure, including electricity and water supplies. In October, a rocket landed near her home and shattered the windows of nearby buildings. Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kiev, called the Russian bombing “genocide” and warned that the city may have to be evacuated if the blackouts continue. “My kids have to go to school in a basement, it’s no fun spending time there. There is no heating or light, sometimes we don’t have water which is much worse,” Krakovska said. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. “It is difficult to be in Kyiv in this situation. It’s a lot of pressure and stress. My husband had a bad situation two weeks ago when he was in the hospital with migraines due to accumulated stress. I was afraid for his life.” Krakovska said it was difficult to leave Kyiv for Egypt – she is there with her daughter, who now fears any plane flying overhead – but she was determined to emphasize the message that Ukraine is a victim of a mineral war fuel. “It’s hard to talk about a green transition now when people have nothing to keep warm and winter is coming,” he said. “We’ll just try to do our best to survive. But we all need to realize our dependence on fossil fuels, we need to think about energy independence, not only from Russia but from fossil fuels. The most reliable source of energy is the sun and we must use it.” Krakovska said the forests she had studied for climate impacts have been torn apart by bombs, while farmland is now littered with landmines. This damage is similar, he argues, to the devastation caused to developing countries by hurricanes, floods and other climate impacts caused by global warming. “Of course the type of disaster is different, but fossil fuels caused climate change and caused this war,” he said. “Russia has destroyed our lives and destroyed our environment. First, of course, we must stop this war, because we are under attack. “But then, I’m pretty sure we’ll find a way to make fossil fuels a thing of the past. Fossil fuels will then be real fossils. Left on the ground, where they belong.”
