Russia's invasion of Ukraine directly caused or paved the way for the emission of 175 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, said a joint report on Thursday, quoted by News.bg.
The report, published by Ukraine's environment ministry and climate NGOs, said their estimate includes both emissions that have been released and those that will be produced during repairs. activities following the destruction caused by the February 2022 invasion.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine directly caused or paved the way for the emission of 175 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, a joint report said on Thursday.
The report, published by Ukraine's environment ministry and climate NGOs, said their estimate includes both emissions that have been released and those that will be produced during repairs. activities following the destruction caused by the February 2022 invasion.
Military emissions can be roughly divided into three thirds: military activity, steel and concrete needed to rebuild damaged infrastructure, and the last third consists of several different factors, including fires and the movement of people.
"In the early months of the war, the majority of emissions were caused by the large-scale destruction of civilian infrastructure, which required major post-war reconstruction efforts," the report said.
"Now, after two years of war, the largest share of emissions comes from a combination of military action, wildfires and damage to energy infrastructure."
Military activity is responsible for emissions of 51.6 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, the report says, with the majority caused by fuel consumption by the Russian military, with another 9.4 million tons of fuel use by the Ukrainian military.
Among the world's largest fuel users, the military globally accounts for 5.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to a 2022 estimate by international experts.
According to the report, the war has significantly increased the frequency of landscape fires in the affected areas.
One million hectares of land were burned by 27,000 war-related fires, causing atmospheric damage equivalent to 23 million tons of CO2.
The report also estimates that the closure of airspace over Ukraine and parts of Russia, as well as restrictions on the use of Russian airspace by certain carriers, created just over 24 million tonnes of CO2 additional emissions.< /strong>