Russia could face €30bn climate reparations bill for Ukraine war

Carbon experts have put together the most comprehensive emissions assessment of any war to date. ADVERTISEMENT Russia’s war in Ukraine has emitted roughly 175 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 24 months, according to the most comprehensive such study of any war to date. This is the equivalent of the annual use of 90 million cars and could cost Russia nearly €30 billion in reparations for the climate damage it has caused. The report comes from the Initiative on Greenhouse Gas Accounting of War (IGGAW) which has been developing new methodologies to measure this ‘conflict carbon’. The initiative’s series of assessments is the first to map the emissions of any war on such a comprehensive scale. Where does this ‘conflict carbon’ come from? A third of emissions come from military activity, particularly the billions of litres of fuel used by Russian vehicles. This is the single greatest source of emissions accounting for around 35 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents. Another third comes from the huge quantities of steel and concrete that have been and will be needed for reconstruction. The final third comes from a variety of sources. Wartime fires have significantly increased in size and intensity since the...