We all know the Ukrainian and Russian war is terrible for many terrifying reasons, but there is one that we haven’t really been talking about. With these extreme heat waves blazing over Europe we need to talk about how this war is impacting our environment and further intensifying climate change.

Europe Before the War:

Ukraine and all of Europe has been on a journey of environmental restoration. The ambitious goals that have been set are targets for efficient and sustainable use of natural resources and pollution reduction. There are also plans to reduce coal mining and end it for good; this also entails improving the energy efficiency of buildings in Ukraine. By reducing environmentally harmful fossil fuel subsidies and liberalization of gas taxes, Ukraine has made significant progress in shifting to a greener economy, OECD.

Prior to the Russian invasion in 2022, Ukraine had a low ranking on environmental measures such as ecosystem health, air quality, and biodiversity production, Environmental Performance Index. Following the war it will only get worse.

Ukraine:

Following the Revolution of Dignity, where Ukraine originally fought to distance themselves from Russia in 2014, Ukraine has dramatically expanded their efforts to be more environmentally conscientious by implementing plans in order to rejuvenate the environment.

The government is currently developing a Post-war Recovery and Development Plan that fits in with low emission practices as the environment is drastically being affected due to the war. This Post-war Recovery and Development Plan follows crucial steps to revive and rejuvenate the environment, including partnership, reform focus, accountability and democratic participation, which will help Ukraine's rebuilding after the war.

The current green plans put in place despite the war to transform and attempt to reverse the effects of greenhouse gasses will ideally help to rebuild Ukraine as well as all of the EU following the Russia invasion. Although there does not seem to be a procedure to put an end to coal use following the war, the initial Ukraine-EU Green Deal as Ukraine plans to close off 90% of their coal mines by 2030, Engineering and Mining Journal.

Coal:

Due to no longer wanting oil from Russia, Ukraine, along with Germany, Italy, Austria and the Netherlands, has been using some of their coal mines again, CBC. 23 European countries have already announced their plans to end coal use, BeyondCoal. The plans to close coal mines in Ukraine is a part of the Ukraine-EU Green Deal as Ukraine sets goals to close and no longer use 90% of their coal mines by 2030, Engineering and Mining Journal; however, with the ongoing war, we no longer know when the end of coal use in Ukraine will take effect.

The amount of coal-fired power plants has temporarily been increased due to some EU countries no longer obtaining oil from Russia, which has horrible environmental effects and will result in adverse outcomes. Coal is much filthier than gas as it exerts a lot more greenhouse gasses that are climate-warming when burned, CBC. Germany's government was working to phase out coal from its energy sector. However, Chris Bataille, an adjunct research fellow with the Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy, said they must ensure it reserves enough gas to heat homes, C BC. "Part of the reason the Germans are allowing these coal plants to turn back on right now is they want to shut off their gas plants so that they can refill their gas storage for the winter," Bataille.

Coal causes not only water pollution but also air pollution and global warming. Mercury, sulfur dioxide and various other heavy metals are released into the air when coal is burned, resulting in horrible effects on individuals and the environment, Global Energy Monitor.

Coal's long-term and most intense impact is climate change. Coal (primarily carbon) reacts with oxygen and produces carbon dioxide when burned. This is causing the Earth to increase in temperature, drought, sea level rise, flooding, species loss, and much more, UCSUSA.

Coal use is being used in Ukraine currently because it is now needed as the war has greatly impacted energy sources in Europe. Coal is the main source of energy in Ukraine as all oil and gas is imported from Russia.

Chunping Xie is an energy economist and policy fellow at the London School of Economics. “The approach does contradict long-term climate goals,” said Xie. “Governments, including in Britain, are saying they don’t, but current plans mean that countries are actually locking in high emissions in the future,” Grid.

Mines:

The Black Sea is full of mines and throughout this war it has been used to attack Ukraine, becoming a serious threat to people.

Vladen Tobak was a Ukrainian navy diving instructor as well as the founder of a diving school located in Odesa tells us: “These mines are there with other unexploded devices from the second world war, which we continue to find. The main concern is that we don't know how many mines were dropped during the naval blockade. It will take a long time to clear the waters of these devices,” Tobak.

These mines have been seen to destroy the deep sea and negatively impact the environment. When these mines are used, species are in danger and sediment clouds, noise, toxic chemicals and other forms of pollution are brought into the environment and cause negative effects, IUCN.

Bombs:

Phosphorus bombs from Russia have been claimed to have been used against Ukraine, phosphorus is both deadly and dangerous for humans, as well as the environment, The Washington Post. Phosphorus is extremely toxic and can cause environmental issues such as soil pollution and can kill wildlife, EPA.GOV.

This has been an environmental setback for Ukraine as they have been struck with toxins and heavy metals in their atmosphere. Although with their plans set in place, such as their post-war recovery plan, they are on the correct route to replenishing the environment and ecosystem in Ukraine. This plan has multiple crucial steps to bring their atmosphere back to life, for example the government has set goals in place to use coal mines for other things such as turning them into museums. This is occurring in places such as Myrnograd with attempts in transforming it into a tourist destination rather than having the coal mines negatively affect the environment, Engineering and Mining Journal.

There are many ways to help Ukraine through this environmental disaster, such as donating, participating in protests and educating yourself and others on the issue. A couple amazing organizations to donate and help out with the costs of this event are Revovery.Gov and The United Nations Foundation.

How Is This War Impacting the Environment More Globally?

Not only has this war affected Ukraine’s environment but all of Europe’s as well. The EU has put in place a plan along with 221 Billion Dollars to be independent of Russia's energy following the war. The European Commission said they want to end gas consumption from Russia by 66% by the end of the year. Their main points to do this are to preserve energy, seek alternate sources, and increase renewables. This war was able to shed light on environmental issues, by increasing the problems, the environmental issues in Europe became more evident and brought upon a positive effort for change.

"We are taking our ambition yet to another level to make sure that we become independent of Russian fossil fuels as quickly as possible," EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Since February, Europe has been working towards minimizing its dependence on Russia's energy. Banning Russian coal and cutting almost half of Russia's share of EU natural gas imports are examples of how they are becoming more independent.

"Untying Europe from its largest energy supplier is going to be difficult. But the economic benefits of ending our dependency will be much greater than the short-term cost of REPowerEU," European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson.

Many are wondering what the outcome will be; where will the EU get their energy? While more than 40% of the energy produced in the EU is from renewable sources, an estimated third was made in nuclear plants. Regarding fossil fuels, Russia is the EU's primary supplier. For example, half of the fossil fuels imported in 2020 came from Russia, as did almost half of their imported natural gasses.

Some European countries such as Bulgaria and Poland have already stopped obtaining Russian gas. However, others, such as Germany, still need Russian gas. The EU can attain their energy supplies by increasing power generation from nuclear, renewables, hydropower and coal, Reuters.

Gas as well as liquified natural gas (LNG) from countries such as Qatar and the United States could replace 60bcm of Russian supplies this year, The European Commission. As Europe has been moving away from coal use to meet climate targets, some of their coal plants had to be turned back on due to the increased cost of gas as an outcome of the war.

The war between Ukraine and Russia has significantly negatively impacted the environment. The immense strain on the ecosystem has increased pollution, fires, and contamination due to the recent incidents. However, to shine some light on the recent and drastic environmental impacts, Europe has put in place plans to rebuild the environment and work towards replenishing the Earth one step at a time.

Environmental Impacts of the Russia Ukraine War and Europe's Plan to Dump Russia's Energy