Russia's war causes both human and environmental disasters. The Ukrainian government plans to demand nearly $44 billion in compensation from Moscow for environmental damage caused by CO2 emissions and the destruction of nature, Reuters reports.
Russian attacks and the fires they cause, large amounts of toxic substances enter the air and soil, many of which are carcinogenic and mutagenic. They include nitrogen oxides, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, benzopyrene, and vapors of sulfuric and hydrocyanic acids.
This would be the first case in history in which a country seeks damages for increased emissions from the use of fossil fuels, cement, and steel in warfare, as well as from the destruction of trees in fires.
According to Dutch carbon accounting expert Lennard de Klerk, Russia’s war against Ukraine has caused approximately 237 million tons of additional CO2 emissions, roughly equivalent to the annual emissions of Ireland, Belgium, and Austria combined.
"A lot of damage was caused to water, to land, to forests," said Deputy Minister of Economy Pavlo Kartashov at the COP30 climate summit in Brazil.
Frozen Russian assets could cover compensation
De Klerk estimated the social cost of CO2 emissions at around $185 per ton. Billions of dollars in frozen Russian assets could potentially be used to cover claims from Ukrainian citizens and legal entities, which have already submitted approximately 70,000 compensation applications.
