Ukraine initiates the introduction of “Agressor Refunds” and the inclusion of such a mechanism in the Paris Agreement. This was stated by Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Ruslan Strilets during a press conference on the sidelines of the COP28.
“Together with the international community, we propose to develop a mechanism for compensation by the aggressor for damage caused to the environment and climate as a result of armed conflicts. After all, greenhouse gas emissions during a war should be the responsibility of the initiator of such a war. While the world is trying to reduce its carbon footprint on the planet, russia is destroying these decades-long aspirations every day,” said Ruslan Strilets.
The Minister set the following examples:
– greenhouse gas emissions from the war in Ukraine already exceed those of Austria. A year ago, we were talking about 97 million tonnes of CO2 emissions. Today it is already 150 million tonnes of CO2.
– A year ago, the area of burned Ukrainian forests was 25,800 hectares. Today, Ukraine has burned as much forest as Montenegro has on its land. The greenhouse gas absorption potential of Ukrainian forests is reduced annually by 175,000 tonnes of CO2eq.
– The explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station in Ukraine destroyed almost 10,000 hectares of internationally important wetlands. These areas could potentially absorb up to 20,000 tonnes of CO2.
“This is all about accelerating climate change on the planet. Definitely, russian missiles do not fall on Paris, Berlin, Mexico City or Canberra. But their consequences are felt by people on all continents. Though, the world’s capitals may not smell the smoke of burning Ukrainian cities. But the greenhouse gases generated by the fires have filled the atmosphere of all countries. The environment will not remain silent. It will respond in the language of cataclysms, floods, tsunamis, earthquakes,” the Minister stressed.
According to him, this is why Ukraine is doing something that no one has done in the history of mankind. We are creating tools that will help the world prevent wars and armed conflicts in the future. This is President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Peace Formula – 10 points covering all areas of global security. This is point 8 – stopping crimes against the environment and returning reparations to Ukraine for the destroyed environment. This is the Environmental Declaration, the draft of which was presented in October during the United for Justice, United for Nature International Forum. We call on all countries of the world to join Ukraine’s initiatives and contribute to the joint work to protect the environment and climate from military actions.
Source: https://www.kmu.gov.ua
