The ongoing war in Ukraine has not only claimed countless lives and displaced millions but has also inflicted severe damage on the global climate.
A study by the Initiative on Greenhouse Gas Accounting of War (IGGAW), released on Wednesday, revealed that since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, the conflict has generated as much climate-damaging greenhouse gas as Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia combined emit in a single year.
According to the study, total emissions from the war have reached 237 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) equivalents, the standard measure used to account for the varying effects of different greenhouse gases.
One-third of these emissions were directly caused by combat activities, including fuel consumption by tanks and jets that burn vast quantities of diesel and kerosene.
The report also highlighted that forest and bush fires triggered by the war significantly contributed to the emissions. It found that the area burned in 2024 was more than 20 times greater than the average recorded between 2006 and 2021, with most fires occurring near frontlines and border zones.
Climate scientists noted that 2024 experienced an unusually dry summer, partly driven by intensifying global warming, which further fuelled the fires. With firefighting operations largely impossible due to the conflict, the blazes often spread uncontrollably.
The researchers concluded that 2024 illustrated how climate change and armed conflict mutually reinforce each other, accelerating global warming.
(NAN)