Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine has shown that the world needs a reliable methodology for calculating greenhouse gas emissions associated with military operations

This was discussed at the meeting ‘Measuring the Climate Impact of Armed Conflict’ held on the sidelines of the COP29.

‘Our goal is to develop a methodology for assessing greenhouse gas emissions from military operations in order not only to bring the aggressor to justice, but also to provide the world with an objective mechanism for calculating carbon emissions from hostilities. We all need to realise that this catastrophe affects each of us. After all, climate security is not just a Ukrainian issue. It is a global problem whose solution depends on our solidarity,’ comments Svitlana Grinchuk, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine.

Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine Victoria Kireeva took part in the presentation of the concept of the methodology for assessing greenhouse gas emissions from military operations on the JFO29 fields. She spoke about the catastrophic consequences and casualties caused by the Russian war in Ukraine. At least 180 million tonnes of carbon dioxide have been released into the atmosphere as a result of the hostilities.

This figure was calculated using the methodology of Dutch climatologist Lennard de Klerk. At the meeting, he presented the first-of-its-kind Methodological Guidelines for Assessing Greenhouse Gas Emissions Associated with Military Operations. The document contains tools and approaches for assessing the direct and indirect impact of armed conflict on the climate. Direct impacts include fires caused by shelling or the movement of military equipment. Examples of indirect impacts include increased flight times for civilian aircraft due to airspace closures, etc.

Mr de Klerk also named 5 main requirements for such calculations: transparency, accuracy, consistency, efficiency, and improvement over time. The collection of information has many challenges, such as how to obtain data from the occupied territories or verify the information coming from unofficial sources. However, in general, the published guidelines are the first and very important step towards building a reliable universal system for all such cases.

In assessing Russian climate damage due to its aggression against Ukraine, we can partially draw on the experience of similar work in other conflicts. Benjamin Neumark of Queen Mary University of London presented his findings on this topic at the conference.

In general, the topic of greenhouse gas emissions from hostilities is extremely relevant to the world, said Ali Kinney of the Conflict and Environment Observatory. After all, wars are the world’s fourth largest CO2 polluter. UN COP29 is an opportunity for Ukraine to deepen existing partnerships in the field of environmental protection, establish new ties, and find new allies