An expert from Amnesty International, the global human rights watchdog organisation, demanded during the recent UN climate meeting in Bonn, Germany that countries take responsibility for the greenhouse gases (GHG) caused by the wars they trigger.
“Not only Ukraine or Gaza, experts estimate that military process-linked emissions, overall, may account for as much as 5.5% of global emissions, which is more than the emissions of some major countries. The first call may be to introduce a norm that countries should report on their military emissions as part of their submissions on total emissions, “opined Rosemary Ann Harrison, Amnesty International’s climate policy advisor to this correspondent in Bonn.
Maximum armed conflicts since World War II
In between 2023–2025, the world experienced the highest number of armed conflicts since World War II, with global monitoring groups like the Peace Research Institute of Oslo (PRIO) recording over 60 active state-based conflicts. More broadly, ACLED (Armed Conflict Location & Event Data) tracked over 120 armed conflicts and roughly 200,000 violent events globally.
Incidentally, the environment and climate impact data of the Russia- Ukraine war being shared during the Bonn summit vindicates the fallout.
11,000 cases of environmental damages, complained Ukraine
Olha Yushkevych, head of the international cooperation department under the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine, alleged that Russia has inflicted “more than 11,000 cases” of environmental damage on Ukraine during the ongoing war leading to the largest environmental loss recorded in Europe in modern history.
“To monitor environmental damage caused by the war, Ukraine has established а mechanism in the form of an online platform called Ecozagroza (that) has already recorded more than 11,000 cases,” said the official to The Plurals at the sidelines of Bonn meeting.
A report, prepared by the Initiative on Greenhouse Gas Accounting of War and nonprofit Ecoaction, supported by the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine, points out that “contamination of soil, water, and air with heavy metals, petroleum products, and explosive materials” dominates the damage, and points out that “marine ecosystems and their habitats are also suffering because of oil spills, noise pollution, and military operations in the area,” and that forests are burning, affecting all their living habitats.
As a case study, the Ukrainian government referred to the Russian attack on the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam on June 5, 2023, which it christened as “the largest man-made environmental disaster in Europe since Chornobyl”.
311 million tonnes greenhouse gas released
The report claims that the full-scale war, which started in 2022, has so far triggered additional greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 311 million tonnes; close to what France emits every year.
The Ukraine official further said that “since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the amount of environmental damage has amounted to … approximately 156 billion USD… the largest environmental loss recorded in Europe in modern history”. She claimed that “ …This damage doesn’t stay within Ukraine’s borders (and) it affects the people in different parts of the world, including the most vulnerable”.
“According to the report, the total emissions caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine are estimated as of 311 million tonnes of carbon di oxide equivalent which amounts to over 57 billion dollars,” she said. Incidentally all greenhouse gases are measured globally with carbon dioxide as the benchmark.
According to Maryana Tsymbaliuk, a young expert from nonprofit Ecoaction, while warfare was directly responsible for 37% of total emissions, resultant landscape fires accounted for 23%, and, reconstruction accounted for 23%. As for the rest, civil aviation linked to military operations was responsible for 9%, energy infrastructure for 6%, and refugee-related emissions for 2%.
Ukraine plans to seek environment and climate compensation
Ukraine plans to move to an international platform to seek compensation for environmental and climatic damages linked to the war. “The Ukrainian government is considering filing a claim under the Environmental Damage category of the Register of Damage for Ukraine, part of the international claims mechanism,” shared the official.
Trying to develop more robust mechanism
When quizzed about the scientific veracity of the claim and the methodology of deduction, the official admitted “methodological challenges as it is a relatively new field of research” but defended the quality of the report stating that “… The assessments are developed through collaboration between climate scientists, researchers, and technical experts from Ukraine and abroad.” She however admitted that they are “currently working to develop additional methodologies and mechanisms that could further strengthen the verification and credibility of war-related emissions accounting.”