Russia is destroying its environment to wage war against Ukraine

Between the military economy and the environment, Russia has made its choice. As Moscow’s army continues its offensive on Ukrainian soil, Vladimir Putin is far less scrupulous when it comes to environmental protection, the independent Russian online newspaper The Insider underlined on Tuesday 26 March. The Russian president specifically excluded several international environmental organizations from his territory, notably Greenpeace and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

Consequences: Industrial emissions in the country have increased, as have pollution levels, leading to “Disease mortality rates comparable to battlefield losses”.An expert in the investigation indicates the media.

A new climate theory

In November 2023, Vladimir Putin adopted a new climate theory, The Insider recalls. And if, in an official document, Moscow assures that climate change is a major challenge of the 21st century, the Kremlin also asks the country to increase its greenhouse gas emissions… paradoxically.

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Ukraine – Russia: military planes of war

However, in November 2020, the head of state signed a decree setting out the objective of reducing them to 70% of their 1990 levels (2,162.4 million tons of CO2 equivalent). However, in 2020, the country’s emissions were already much lower than in 1990: 1,482.2 million tons, or 48% of thirty years earlier. Today, Russia wants to “reduce” its emissions to 1,673 million tons of CO2 equivalent (or 54% of 1990 levels) by 2030, which means emissions are expected to rise.

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Sanctions imposed on Russia as an argument

The Russian state ranks fourth in the world in terms of carbon emissions – after China, the United States and India – and yet its officials “Reaffirm their commitment frequently” In favor of climate action and reducing emissions, the statistics show the opposite.

“Everyone is trying to escape their responsibilities, claiming that they face huge obstacles in the way of the green transition and decarbonization necessary to combat climate change, due to sanctions imposed by former partners”Russian ecologist Vasily Yablokov believes.

“It’s like nothing is happening, as if Restrictions Appeared out of nowhere, to prevent Russia from fighting global warming.It continues.

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Increases the risk of cancer and chronic diseases

Russia’s new environmental plans also suggest reducing monitoring of compliance with environmental standards. Thus, in 2022 and 2023, the government suspended ecological inspections of companies. The ban was imposed in early March 2022, almost immediately after the war in Ukraine began. The measure was officially justified by the need to ease the pressure on companies subject to sanctions.

Additionally, in March 2022, the Russian Parliament adopted a law postponing several environmental initiatives. The Clean Air 2020 project, an experimental quota system aimed at reducing emissions by 20% in 12 Russian cities, has been postponed from 2024 to 2026. This indicates an increased risk of cancer and chronic diseases. , and therefore premature mortality according to certain experts.