Ukraine plans to file a lawsuit against the Russian Federation for nearly $44 billion as compensation for damages caused by climate change due to armed aggression. This was stated by Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Economy Pavlo Kartashov during the COP30 climate summit taking place in Brazil. This lawsuit will be the first case in the world where a country demands compensation for increased greenhouse gas emissions caused by war.
This is reported by Finway
Scale of Environmental Damage from the War
According to Kartashov, Russian aggression has led to a significant increase in carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other greenhouse gas emissions. The sources of these emissions include combat operations, mass use of fossil fuels, cement, steel, and large-scale fires that destroy forests. Additional CO₂ equivalent emissions since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in 2022 are estimated at about 237 million tons — comparable to the total annual emissions of Ireland, Belgium, and Austria.
“Significant damage has been done to water, land, and forests. We have a huge amount of additional CO₂ and greenhouse gas emissions,” Kartashov noted.
Legal Mechanisms and Compensation Pathways
The cost of the damage to society from these emissions has been estimated by experts at approximately $185 per ton of CO₂. Ukraine intends to utilize a new loss compensation mechanism implemented by the Council of Europe. Currently, around 70,000 claims have already been submitted by Ukrainian citizens to this structure for compensation for damages caused by the war. Experts are also considering the possibility of using frozen Russian assets to pay for environmental damage compensation.
In addition to the increase in CO₂ emissions, Russian troops are also involved in the pollution of the Black Sea and committing war crimes, including the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station, which further exacerbates the environmental crisis in the region.