Russia’s war in Ukraine has caused extensive devastation, including the destruction or damage of homes, schools, hospitals, and other critical public facilities, leaving citizens without essential resources such as water, electricity, and healthcare. The war has also led to significant environmental damage with the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam in June 2023 as one of the most devastating events for both people and nature.
This war impacts the global climate due to the release of significant amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere. This third interim assessment concludes that GHG emissions, attributable to 18 months or 555 days of the war, total to 150 million tCO2e. This is more than the annual GHG emissions from a highly industrialized country like Belgium.
We believe the Russian Federation should be held accountable for these emissions and the resulting damage to the global climate. Russia should be held accountable because, without its act of aggression, these greenhouse gas emissions would not have happened.
Download publication:
Climate damage caused by russia’s war in Ukraine: 24 February 2022 – 1 September 2023 (PDF)
Other iterations of the climate damage report you can find here:
Climate damage report: 2 years since the full-scale invasion
Climate damage report: 1 year since the full-scale invasion
Climate damage report: 7 months since the full-scale invasion
Guidance on the assessment of conflict-related GHG emissions you can find here:
Methodological guidance to estimate conflict-related GHG emissions
The publication is available in Ukrainian:
Вплив російської війни в Україні на клімат: 24 лютого 2022 – 1 вересня 2023
his report was made possible with support by the European Climate Foundation (ECF) and by the Environmental Policy and Advocacy Initiative in Ukraine (EPAIU). The EPAIU has been implemented by the International Renaissance Foundation (IRF) with the financial support of Sweden. Proofreading and design was supported by the International Climate Initiative (IKI).
Views, conclusions, or recommendations belong to the authors of this report and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the IRF and/or Government of Sweden and/or Climate Initiative (IKI) and/or Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action of Germany. The responsibility over the content lies solely with the authors of this report.