Ukraine initiates creation of Agressor Refunds mechanism for environmental damage refunding

Ukraine is eager to work with the international society to develop the Agressor Refunds,a mechanism for compensation for the damage that the Russians caused to the environment and climate as a result of armed conflicts. The Russians, as the invaders, are supposed to refund this damage. Source: Ukraine's Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Ruslan Strilets at a press conference on the sidelines of the COP28 on Sunday, Interfax-Ukraine news agency reports

Quote: "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."

Details: According to him, greenhouse gas emissions from the war in Ukraine already exceed those of Austria: if a year ago they were estimated at 97 million tonnes, today they are already at 150 million tonnes. A year ago, the area of burned Ukrainian forests was 25,800 hectares, and now Ukraine has as many forests burned as Montenegro.

The potential for greenhouse gas absorption by Ukrainian forests is reduced by 175,000 tonnes of CO2 in the equivalent annually, the minister added.

Background:

• On 4 December, Nils Berndt, Deputy Director General of the European Commission's Justice Directorate, said that the European Union was ready to help Ukraine investigate Russia's environmental crimes, as their scale was huge, but the legal context of these crimes was not very clear.
• The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources estimates the damage from additional CO2 emissions at US£10 billion, but the country is committed to environmental reforms.

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