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Russia faces $32 billion bill for carbon emissions from Ukraine war

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Thursday, June 13, 2024

A building damaged by a drone attack in Kyiv in October 2022Roman Hrytsyna/Associated Press/Alamy The first two years of Russia’s war on Ukraine will result in greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to around 175 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, a group of climate experts has estimated. The extra warming that would result from such emissions is calculated to lead to extreme weather around the world with impacts amounting to $32 billion. Ukraine intends to add these climate-related costs to the list of damages for which Russia is responsible, and for which compensation will be demanded. “It will be an essential plank in the reparations case we are building against Russia,” Ukraine’s Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, Ruslan Strilets, said in a statement. “These are the damages that are going to happen to the economy and to societies as a result of extreme weather impacts from climate change, which are a result of emissions,” says Lennard de Klerk, a businessperson involved in climate-related enterprises and the founder of the Initiative on Greenhouse Gas Accounting of War. That group today released its fourth assessment of the impact of the war, covering February 2022 to February 2024. The reconstruction of bombed buildings, roads and other infrastructure is the single largest source of emissions, it found, accounting for nearly a third of the 175 megatonnes. Its figure includes reconstruction that has yet to occur. Another third is a direct result of warfare, with fuel use being the biggest part of this. Around 14 per cent of the total is due to passenger airlines having to reroute flights to avoid Russia and Ukraine. For instance, flights from Tokyo to London now go over Canada rather than Russia, increasing flying time from 11 to 15 hours. About 13 per cent is due to the increase in landscape fires, as recorded by satellites. This isn’t just due to weapons causing fires, but also to the ending of fire management in occupied areas, the assessment says. There are large uncertainties in the figures, as there are no official numbers to rely on in most cases. Instead, the group has to turn to the likes of open-source assessments or figures from previous conflicts. There is also the question of how far to go in assessing the knock-on effects of the war. “We try to be as comprehensive as possible,” de Klerk says. “At the same time, there are limitations, some effects maybe that are too distant or too difficult to quantify.” Estimating how much harm will result from additional emissions – known as the social cost of carbon – is another tricky area. “The science on trying to put a monetary value on those future damages is still evolving,” says de Klerk. The estimate of $32 billion is based on a 2022 study putting the social cost of carbon at around $185 per tonne of CO2. Should this sum – which is rising daily – ever be paid, de Klerk thinks some should go to Ukraine to be used for measures such as restoring forests, to help recapture some of the carbon. Another slice should go to the countries being hit hardest by global heating, he thinks, perhaps via an existing system called the Green Climate Fund. But where the money would go is a political decision that remains to be resolved. For decades, low-income and island nations have fought to establish the principle that high-emitting, high-income countries should pay for the losses and damages caused by their greenhouse gas emissions. A loss-and-damage fund was finally set up last year as part of international climate agreements.

The estimated greenhouse gas emissions caused by the war in Ukraine are equivalent to around 175 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, and Ukraine plans to include the associated climate damage in its compensation claim against Russia

A building damaged by a drone attack in Kyiv in October 2022

Roman Hrytsyna/Associated Press/Alamy

The first two years of Russia’s war on Ukraine will result in greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to around 175 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, a group of climate experts has estimated.

The extra warming that would result from such emissions is calculated to lead to extreme weather around the world with impacts amounting to $32 billion.

Ukraine intends to add these climate-related costs to the list of damages for which Russia is responsible, and for which compensation will be demanded.

“It will be an essential plank in the reparations case we are building against Russia,” Ukraine’s Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, Ruslan Strilets, said in a statement.

“These are the damages that are going to happen to the economy and to societies as a result of extreme weather impacts from climate change, which are a result of emissions,” says Lennard de Klerk, a businessperson involved in climate-related enterprises and the founder of the Initiative on Greenhouse Gas Accounting of War.

That group today released its fourth assessment of the impact of the war, covering February 2022 to February 2024. The reconstruction of bombed buildings, roads and other infrastructure is the single largest source of emissions, it found, accounting for nearly a third of the 175 megatonnes. Its figure includes reconstruction that has yet to occur.

Another third is a direct result of warfare, with fuel use being the biggest part of this.

Around 14 per cent of the total is due to passenger airlines having to reroute flights to avoid Russia and Ukraine. For instance, flights from Tokyo to London now go over Canada rather than Russia, increasing flying time from 11 to 15 hours.

About 13 per cent is due to the increase in landscape fires, as recorded by satellites. This isn’t just due to weapons causing fires, but also to the ending of fire management in occupied areas, the assessment says.

There are large uncertainties in the figures, as there are no official numbers to rely on in most cases. Instead, the group has to turn to the likes of open-source assessments or figures from previous conflicts.

There is also the question of how far to go in assessing the knock-on effects of the war. “We try to be as comprehensive as possible,” de Klerk says. “At the same time, there are limitations, some effects maybe that are too distant or too difficult to quantify.”

Estimating how much harm will result from additional emissions – known as the social cost of carbon – is another tricky area. “The science on trying to put a monetary value on those future damages is still evolving,” says de Klerk.

The estimate of $32 billion is based on a 2022 study putting the social cost of carbon at around $185 per tonne of CO2.

Should this sum – which is rising daily – ever be paid, de Klerk thinks some should go to Ukraine to be used for measures such as restoring forests, to help recapture some of the carbon. Another slice should go to the countries being hit hardest by global heating, he thinks, perhaps via an existing system called the Green Climate Fund. But where the money would go is a political decision that remains to be resolved.

For decades, low-income and island nations have fought to establish the principle that high-emitting, high-income countries should pay for the losses and damages caused by their greenhouse gas emissions. A loss-and-damage fund was finally set up last year as part of international climate agreements.

Read the full story here.

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With the holiday travel season ramping up, a good book is a must-have for airport delays or to give as the perfect gift.

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Metcalfe believes access to the previously hidden digital lives of the poet and his circle will lead him to the manuscript. He knows where to start his search: Thanks to Nigeria — the 22nd century’s superpower — the historical internet has been decrypted and archived, including every personal email, text, photo and video.The truth, though, lies elsewhere. It’s a richly told tale of our deranged present — and where it may lead without course correction. — Todd Woody“Greenwood” by Michael ChristieThis likewise dystopian novel begins in 2038 with Jacinda Greenwood, a dendrologist turned tour guide for the ultra-wealthy, working in one of the world’s last remaining forests. But the novel zig-zags back to 1934 and the beginnings of a timber empire that divided her family for generations.For more than a century, the Greenwoods’ lives and fates were entwined with the trees they fought to exploit or protect. The novel explores themes of ancestral sin and atonement against the backdrop of the forests, which stand as silent witnesses to human crimes enacted on a global scale. — Danielle Bochove“Barkskins” by Annie ProulxAnother multigenerational saga, spanning more than three centuries and 700 pages, this 2016 novel by a Pulitzer Prize-winning author tracks the deforestation of the New World over 300 years, beginning in the 17th century.Following the descendants of two immigrants to what will become modern-day Quebec, the story takes the reader on a global voyage, crisscrossing North America, visiting the Amsterdam coffee houses that served as hubs for the Dutch mercantile empire and following new trade routes from China to New Zealand. Along the way, it chronicles the exploitation of the forests, the impact on Indigenous communities and the lasting legacy of colonialism.With a vast cast of characters, the novel is at times unwieldy. 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Google is betting on carbon capture tech to lower data center emissions. Here’s how it works

As AI data centers spring up across the country, their energy demand and resulting greenhouse gas emissions are raising concerns. With servers and energy-intensive cooling systems constantly running, these buildings can use anywhere from a few megawatts of power for a small data center to more than 100 megawatts for a hyperscale data center. To put that in perspective, the average large natural gas power plant built in the U.S. generates less than 1,000 megawatts. When the power for these data centers comes from fossil fuels, they can become major sources of climate-warming emissions in the atmosphere—unless the power plants capture their greenhouse gases first and then lock them away. Google recently entered into a unique corporate power purchase agreement to support the construction of a natural gas power plant in Illinois designed to do exactly that through carbon capture and storage. So how does carbon capture and storage, or CCS, work for a project like this? I am an engineer who wrote a 2024 book about various types of carbon storage. Here’s the short version of what you need to know. How CCS works When fossil fuels are burned to generate electricity, they release carbon dioxide, a powerful greenhouse gas that remains in the atmosphere for centuries. As these gases accumulate in the atmosphere, they act like a blanket, holding heat close to the Earth’s surface. Too high of a concentration heats up the Earth too much, setting off climate changes, including worsening heat waves, rising sea levels, and intensifying storms. Carbon capture and storage involves capturing carbon dioxide from power plants, industrial processes, or even directly from the air and then transporting it, often through pipelines, to sites where it can be safely injected underground for permanent storage. The carbon dioxide might be transported as a supercritical gas—which is right at the phase change from liquid to gas and has the properties of both—or dissolved in a liquid. Once injected deep underground, the carbon dioxide can become permanently trapped in the geologic structure, dissolve in brine, or become mineralized, turning it to rock. The goal of carbon storage is to ensure that carbon dioxide can be kept out of the atmosphere for a long time. Types of underground carbon storage There are several options for storing carbon dioxide underground. Depleted oil and natural gas reservoirs have plentiful storage space and the added benefit that most are already mapped and their limits understood. They already held hydrocarbons in place for millions of years. Carbon dioxide can also be injected into working oil or gas reservoirs to push out more of those fossil fuels while leaving most of the carbon dioxide behind. This method, known as enhanced oil and gas recovery, is the most common one used by carbon capture and storage projects in the U.S. today, and one reason CCS draws complaints from environmental groups. Volcanic basalt rock and carbonate formations are considered good candidates for safe and long-term geological storage because they contain calcium and magnesium ions that interact with carbon dioxide, turning it into minerals. Iceland pioneered this method using its bedrock of volcanic basalt for carbon storage. Basalt also covers most of the oceanic crust, and scientists have been exploring the potential for sub-seafloor storage reservoirs. How Iceland uses basalt to turn captured carbon dioxide into solid minerals. In the U.S., a fourth option likely has the most potential for industrial carbon dioxide storage—deep saline aquifers, which is what Google plans to use. These widely distributed aquifers are porous and permeable sediment formations consisting of sandstone, limestone, or dolostone. They’re filled with highly mineralized groundwater that cannot be used directly for drinking water but is very suitable for storing CO2. Deep saline aquifers also have large storage capacities, ranging from about 1,000 to 20,000 gigatons. In comparison, the nation’s total carbon emissions from fossil fuels in 2024 were about 4.9 gigatons. As of fall 2025, 21 industrial facilities across the U.S. used carbon capture and storage, including industries producing natural gas, fertilizer, and biofuels, according to the Global CCS Institute’s 2025 report. Five of those use deep saline aquifers, and the rest involve enhanced oil or gas recovery. Eight more industrial carbon capture facilities were under construction. Google’s plan is unique because it involves a power purchase agreement that makes building the power plant with carbon capture and storage possible. Google’s deep saline aquifer storage plan Google’s 400-megawatt natural gas power plant, to be built with Broadwing Energy, is designed to capture about 90% of the plant’s carbon dioxide emissions and pipe them underground for permanent storage in a deep saline aquifer in the nearby Mount Simon sandstone formation. The Mount Simon sandstone formation is a huge saline aquifer that lies underneath most of Illinois, southwestern Indiana, southern Ohio, and western Kentucky. It has a layer of highly porous and permeable sandstone that makes it an ideal candidate for carbon dioxide injection. To keep the carbon dioxide in a supercritical state, that layer needs to be at least half a mile (800 meters) deep. A thick layer of Eau Claire shale sits above the Mount Simon formation, serving as the caprock that helps prevent stored carbon dioxide from escaping. Except for some small regions near the Mississippi River, Eau Claire shale is considerably thick—more than 300 feet (90 meters)—throughout most of the Illinois basin. The estimated storage capacity of the Mount Simon formation ranges from 27 gigatons to 109 gigatons of carbon dioxide. The Google project plans to use an existing injection well site that was part of the first large-scale carbon storage demonstration in the Mount Simon formation. Food producer Archer Daniels Midland began injecting carbon dioxide there from nearby corn processing plants in 2012. Carbon capture and storage has had challenges as the technology developed over the years, including a pipeline rupture in 2020 that forced evacuations in Satartia, Mississippi, and caused several people to lose consciousness. After a recent leak deep underground at the Archer Daniels Midland site in Illinois, the Environmental Protection Agency in 2025 required the company to improve its monitoring. Stored carbon dioxide had migrated into an unapproved area, but no threat to water supplies was reported. Why does CCS matter? Data centers are expanding quickly, and utilities will have to build more power capacity to keep up. The artificial intelligence company OpenAI is urging the U.S. to build 100 gigawatts of new capacity every year—doubling its current rate. Many energy experts, including the International Energy Agency, believe carbon capture and storage will be necessary to slow climate change and keep global temperatures from reaching dangerous levels as energy demand rises. Ramesh Agarwal is a professor of engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Seaweed has become a key cash crop as climate change and industrial trawling test the resilient culture of the semi-nomadic Vezo peopleAlong Madagascar’s south-west coast, the Vezo people, who have fished the Mozambique Channel for countless generations, are defined by a way of life sustained by the sea. Yet climate change and industrial exploitation are pushing this ocean-based culture to its limits.Coastal villages around Toliara, a city in southern Madagascar, host tens of thousands of the semi-nomadic Vezo people, who make a living from small-scale fishing on the ocean. For centuries, they have launched pirogues, small boats carved from single tree trunks, every day into the turquoise shallows to catch tuna, barracuda and grouper.A boat near lines of seaweed, which has become a main source of income for Ambatomilo village as warmer seas, bleached reefs and erratic weather accelerate the decline of local fish populations Continue reading...

Along Madagascar’s south-west coast, the Vezo people, who have fished the Mozambique Channel for countless generations, are defined by a way of life sustained by the sea. Yet climate change and industrial exploitation are pushing this ocean-based culture to its limits.Coastal villages around Toliara, a city in southern Madagascar, host tens of thousands of the semi-nomadic Vezo people, who make a living from small-scale fishing on the ocean. For centuries, they have launched pirogues, small boats carved from single tree trunks, every day into the turquoise shallows to catch tuna, barracuda and grouper.“We rely solely on the ocean,” says Soa Nomeny, a woman from a small island off the south-west coast called Nosy Ve. “Whatever we catch today, we eat today. If we catch nothing, we don’t eat.”That dependence is becoming precarious for the 600 or so residents of Nosy Ve. Michel “Goff” Strogoff, a former shark hunter turned conservationist from the Vezo hamlet of Andavadoaka, says fish populations began collapsing in the 1990s and have declined sharply over the past decade.Rising sea temperatures, coral bleaching and reef degradation have destroyed breeding grounds, while erratic weather linked to warming oceans has shortened fishing seasons. “There’s no abundance near shore any more,” he says. “We’re forced to paddle farther.” Soa Nomeny, wearing traditional sunblock, prepares the family’s main meal of rice and fish or octopus. The Vezo only eat that day’s catch, ensuring their meals are connected to the sea’s bounty In Nosy Ve, fish are often cooked with tomato, onion and garlic; salted sardines are laid out to dry before being sold in Andavadoaka; Soa Nomeny applies tabake, traditional sunblock made from ground taolo, a fragrant bark; and the catch is taken to market from Bevohitse village by zebu-drawn cart, the main form of transport in remote areas We still depend on fish for daily needs, but the seaweed helps us plan aheadLocal fishers echo the same concern. “There are simply too many nets out there,” says Hosoanay Natana, who now travels hours beyond traditional grounds to make a viable catch for him and his fellow fishermen.Industrial trawlers – Malagasy and foreign – often enter near-shore waters despite a national ban on the ships coming within two nautical miles (3.7km) of the coast. Weak enforcement means violations are common, leaving small-scale fishers with dwindling returns.The environmental group Blue Ventures, which has worked in the region for two decades, reports that reef fish biomass across south-west Madagascar has fallen by more than half since the 1990s. The organisation supports locally managed marine areas (LMMAs) that help communities set their own fishing rules, restore reefs and look for alternative ways to make a living.Some of the most promising of these include imposing temporary closures, which have allowed octopus stocks to rebound, and the new practice of seaweed farming, which acts as a commercial buffer against overfishing and climate shocks. Hosoanay Natana tightening the net around a school of barracuda. Divers direct boats to form a circle with the net. Once the fish are trapped, the divers retrieve them and bring them to the boat, ensuring more sustainable fishing Farther down the coast, the village of Ambatomilo, known locally as Seaweed Village, has embraced this shift. Overseen by its LMMA committee, it is among several communities cultivating seaweed as a supplementary income for fishers whose traditional grounds are overexploited. Families lay freshly harvested seaweed out to dry before selling it to local cooperatives.Fabricé and his wife, Olive, who began farming five years ago, harvest every couple of weeks. “The market pays around 1,500 ariary [25p] per kilo,” says Olive, spreading red seaweed across bamboo racks. Depending on the season, families can produce up to a tonne a month, offering significant extra income that helps cushion households’ living standards when fishing falters.“We still depend on fish for daily needs,” she says, “but the seaweed helps us plan ahead.”Seaweed farming is now one of Madagascar’s fastest-growing coastal industries. The crop is exported mainly for carrageenan – a gelling agent used in food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals – but also serves locally as fertiliser and livestock feed. Fabricé gathers in the seaweed harvest. Depending on the season, they can harvest up to a tonne a month. With his wife, Olive, he carries the seaweed to prepare it for market. It is also eaten or used as seasoning, and serves as fertiliser or animal feed when dried. Soa Nomeny with an octopus she has speared to supplement the fish catch Environmental studies have shown that seaweed farms also help stabilise coastlines by reducing wave energy and absorbing carbon dioxide, contributing to erosion control and carbon sequestration.The Vezo people’s adaptability, once a source of pride, has become a condition of survival. Outside the cyclone season, some families still undertake long fishing migrations, camping on sandbanks and uninhabited islets as they follow fish along the coast. “Extended migrations are always an option,” says Natana. “Whether we embark or not depends on the fish stocks nearby.”Such journeys can last weeks or months, depending on catches and resources. The lure of high-value commodities – such as shark fins or sea cucumbers bound for Chinese markets – draws some to more distant waters up to 1,000 miles (1,600km) away.“Some even venture all the way to the Seychelles,” says Strogoff, a nod to the Vezo people’s enduring nomadic spirit: always chasing the next opportunity to make a living. Villagers gathered for the Tromba ritual, performed to invoke blessings, honour ancestors and seek protection, good health and plenty. People are possessed by spirits, a goat or even a zebu is sacrificed, and other offerings made, such as rice, bread or rum. The ritual is also performed at times of crisis, before a journey, or for marriages Cultural traditions remain central to community life. On Nosy Ve, families still gather for annual blessing rituals, seeking protection and prosperity. During one such ceremony, elders invoke ancestral spirits in a Tromba possession rite while villagers sacrifice a goat or make other offerings to ensure safety at sea.Life on the island reflects both endurance and fragility. Homes built from pounded seashells and palm fronds line the beach; nights are lit by torches instead of electricity.After a day at sea, the fish catches are shared equally among crews, with the surplus sold or traded for rice or solar batteries. Meals rarely change: rice, beans and grilled fish.For now, the Vezo people continue to depend on the ocean that shaped them. Yet each year, the distance they must travel grows and the risks mount.As industrial fleets expand and reefs decline, an ancient seafaring culture faces an uncertain horizon. Their struggle reflects a wider challenge across coastal Africa: how small communities can endure when the sea that sustains them is changing so fast.

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Sinkholes in Turkey's Agricultural Heartland Fuel Farmers' Concerns

By Ali KucukgocmenKONYA, Turkey, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Hundreds of ‌sinkholes have emerged in Turkey's central ‌agricultural region due to dwindling...

KONYA, Turkey, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Hundreds of ‌sinkholes have emerged in Turkey's central ‌agricultural region due to dwindling rainfall and receding groundwaters, causing concern among farmers and environmental experts who see it as a worrying sign of climate change.Gaping sinkholes ‍pockmark farmland producing maize, wheat and sugar beet in Karapinar in Konya province, with more than 10 packed into a field ⁠in places. In mountainous areas, vast, ancient sinkholes previously filled with water have now mostly dried up.The pace at which sinkholes are forming in the Konya basin has accelerated in recent years, with the total now nearing 700, according to Fetullah Arik, a geology ‌professor studying sinkholes at Konya Technical University."The main reason for the increase in numbers is ‌climate change and drought, which ‍have affected ⁠the whole world since the 2000s," Arik said. "As a result of this drought, the groundwater level is dropping slightly every year."He said the pace of receding groundwater levels has reached 4 to 5 metres per year, compared to half a metre per year in the 2000s, adding to concerns in Turkey's major agricultural sector.Drought and receding groundwater lead local farmers to dig more wells, many unlicensed, further depleting the groundwater and exacerbating the problem."There is also an extremely high demand for water in this (Konya) basin," Arik said, adding that there are around 120,000 unlicensed wells, compared to some 40,000 licensed ones.While the new sinkholes have not caused any casualties so far, their unpredictable nature risks the lives and belongings of locals, he said.Two sinkholes opened up in the farmland belonging to Mustafa Sik, a farmer in Karapinar, in the past two years. His brother was only a short distance away, working on the farm in August 2024 when the second sinkhole formed with an "extremely loud, terrifying rumbling sound," Sik said.A survey by geologists in Sik's land found two more areas where sinkholes could form – although it is not possible to predict when it will happen."Are we worried? Of course, we are very worried," he said.(Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by Daren Butler, Alexandra Hudson)Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.Photos You Should See – December 2025

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Climate

Silent Skies - The First Electric Plane Flyover

Silent Skies follows the groundbreaking journey of three Pennsylvania college students who orchestrated and piloted the first ever fully electric airplane stadium flyover. Stunning fans with a whisper-quiet show, this event signaled the dawn of America's transition to electric aviation. The students completed a record breaking trip flying the airplane from its base in Hartford, CT to the stadium in Easton, PA, recharging at enroute airports directly from a fleet of electric F-150 trucks. The air travel industry faces an unprecedented challenge: decarbonization. Historically, new aviation technologies are met with consumer skepticism. Demonstrating electric aircraft today, ahead of widespread adoption, is key for building consumer trust, political support, and sustained investment. The flyover was witnessed by 10,000+ attendees, thousands more on ESPN+ and created a precedent for the FAA to approve manned electric aircraft demonstrations over populated areas. Textron eAviation and Ford amplified the event through their social media channels and the film premiered at San Francisco Climate Week.

Technology

Transportation

Climate

The Whale Guitar: Instrument of Change

Inspired by Herman Melville's epic tale, "Moby-Dick or The Whale", a late-blooming singer/songwriter and former toy designer, Jen Long, acts on a startling vision and commissions the design and build of a remarkable custom electric guitar. It's body is "The Whale" itself as it snags the mad Captain Ahab in the tangled ropes of his own obsession, and prepares to launch a boat of his whalers to their doom. The entire guitar reinterprets Melville's tale as an Anthropocene climate change warning, with the whale representing the seas and storms of climate change arising on this "third day" of late stage capitalism. Hundreds of guitarists, including J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr., and Marissa Paternoster of Screaming Females, have played and signed this "Instrument of Change" to amplify the alarm to turn our ship of over-production and over-consumption around while there is still time. As the embroidered strap featuring Starbuck's last words implores: "oh! Ahab, not too late is it, even now, the third day, to desist."

Music

Activism

Climate

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Russia faces $32 billion bill for carbon emissions from Ukraine war

Related News

Neil Frank, Former Hurricane Center Chief Who Improved Public Outreach on Storms, Has Died

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Google is betting on carbon capture tech to lower data center emissions. Here’s how it works

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Suggested Viewing

The Straight Poop

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Silent Skies - The First Electric Plane Flyover

The Whale Guitar: Instrument of Change

Join us to forgea sustainable future

sign up for our mailing list to stay informed on the latest films and environmental headlines.

Join us to forge
a sustainable future