Russia’s war in Ukraine has caused extensive damage. Less well-known are the climate costs of the billions of litres of fuel used by military vehicles, vast fields and forests set ablaze, hundreds of oil and gas structures blown up and mountains of steel and cement used to fortify the front lines and, increasingly, cities and energy infrastructure.
The total climate damage caused by the russian federation in two years of full-scale invasion of Ukraine amounts to $32 billion. This data comes from the updated assessment of the Initiative on Greenhouse Gas Accounting of War (IGGAW).
According to the study, the first 12 months of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine led to the emission of 120 million tons of carbon dioxide. However, in the 24 months since the invasion emissions have significantly increased to 175 million tons of carbon dioxide. This exceeds the annual emissions of a highly industrialized country like The Netherlands, putting 90 million new petrol cars on the road, or building 260 coal-fired power units of 200 MW each.
Download publication: Climate Damage Caused by War 24 months EN (PDF)
Previous iterations of the climate damage report you can find here:
Climate damage report: 1,5 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
Contacts:
IGGAW lead author Lennard de Klerk (DE, EN, HU, NL), +36 (0)3 03 66 29 83
Ministry for Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine communications manager Yevheniya Simkova, +380 (97) 710 90 79
IGGAW communications consultant Jack Hunter (EN), +33 (0)7 54 54 35 48
This 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.