Report: War in Ukraine Worsens Climate Crisis

The war in Ukraine is worsening the climate crisis, a new report says.

A group of researchers will present the report this week at the United Nations climate meeting in Bonn, Switzerland. The scientists report that the first 12 months of the war will lead to increased production of waste gases that heat the planet. They say they expect the increase will amount to about 120 million metric tons of gas emissions¹, or release. That is equal to a year's worth of emissions by the country of Belgium.

Dutch expert Lennard de Klerk is the lead writer of the report, Climate Damage Caused By Russia's War in Ukraine. He led a team of researchers investigating the creation of war-linked emissions. The causes include fuel use for vehicles, forest fires, changes in energy use in Europe and the future rebuilding of buildings and roads.

"We didn't expect the emissions of war would be so significant," said de Klerk by phone from his home in Hungary near the border with Ukraine.

Carbon accounting² will be an important subject of discussion at the COP28 climate meeting in Dubai this year. Countries will measure progress against climate goals agreed to in Paris in 2015. De Klerk said it was very important that military emissions were included.

"The aim that we all should have is to get to net zero (carbon emissions) by 2050, including the military, but if you don't know what the military emissions are, it's very difficult to start work on policies to reduce them," de Klerk said.

The European Climate Foundation and the Environmental Policy and Advocacy Initiative in Ukraine paid for the research and report.

Almost half of the estimated increase in emissions since the Ukraine war started in February 2022 is connected to the expected rebuilding and repairing needs. The fighting has destroyed or damaged many roads, factories and other structures and systems.

About 19 percent of the emissions come from military activities like vehicle fuel use, making and firing weapons and building defensive³ structures.

The total also includes planet-warming gas production linked to the conflict but happening outside Ukraine. That includes gas leaks from the destroyed Nord Stream pipeline⁴, the redirects of international flights and the movement of refugees.

The report said there had been a drop in Ukraine's own economic activity due to the conflict. But it said emissions related to those activities had mainly moved to other countries.

The report also said there was a drop in emissions in Europe linked to lower flows of Russian gas and a drop in electricity usage from higher energy costs. But that decrease had almost all been offset⁵ by increases in the use of oil, coal and liquified natural gas.

Carbon accounting expert de Klerk said government reports on military-linked emissions are often unclear and inexact. Emissions created by armies in foreign territory are not counted, and annexed⁷ territories are sometimes double-counted, he said.

Other studies have attempted to measure emissions from conflicts.

A project called Costs of War at Brown University in Rhode Island measured emissions from American military activities outside the U.S. between 2001 and 2018. The researchers reported that the U.S. military's activities in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria created 440 million metric tons of emissions.

Words in This Story

significant — adj. large enough to be noticed or have an effect

liquefy— v. to cause to become liquid

annex⁶ — v. to take control of a territory or place

1 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

2 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

3 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

4 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

5 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

6 annex   

vt.兼并，吞并；n.附属建筑物

参考例句：

• It plans to annex an England company in order to enlarge the market.它计划兼并一家英国公司以扩大市场。
• The annex has been built on to the main building.主楼配建有附属的建筑物。

7 annexed   

[法] 附加的，附属的

参考例句：

• Germany annexed Austria in 1938. 1938年德国吞并了奥地利。
• The outlying villages were formally annexed by the town last year. 那些偏远的村庄于去年正式被并入该镇。