At COP30 in Belém, Ukraine announced plans to seek $43 billion from Russia to fund a climate-focused reconstruction. The claim is based on an IGGAW report estimating the invasion produced 236.8 million tonnes of CO2 — roughly equal to the annual emissions of Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia combined. Officials call these emissions “conflict carbon” and plan to use documented evidence as the legal basis for the compensation claim. Kyiv has also drafted a green-recovery law and pledged alignment with EU climate standards.
Ukraine Seeks $43bn from Russia for 'Conflict Carbon' Damage — Pledges Green Rebuild at COP30
At COP30 in Belém, Ukraine announced plans to seek $43 billion from Russia to fund a climate-focused reconstruction. The claim is based on an IGGAW report estimating the invasion produced 236.8 million tonnes of CO2 — roughly equal to the annual emissions of Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia combined. Officials call these emissions “conflict carbon” and plan to use documented evidence as the legal basis for the compensation claim. Kyiv has also drafted a green-recovery law and pledged alignment with EU climate standards.
09:40 AM, 11/19/2025Environment
At the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil, Ukraine announced it will pursue a $43 billion claim against Russia to help fund a climate-focused reconstruction following the invasion.
“In many ways, Russia is fighting a dirty war and our climate is also a casualty,” said Pavlo Kartashov, Ukraine's Deputy Minister for Economy, Environment and Agriculture, speaking at a COP30 event.
Kartashov described the vast volumes of fuel burned, forests scorched, buildings destroyed and the concrete and steel used in reconstruction as “conflict carbon,” producing a substantial climate cost. He warned that while Ukraine bears the immediate human and environmental toll, the climate impacts will ripple beyond its borders and persist for decades.
The $43 billion figure draws on an October report by the Initiative on Greenhouse Gas Accounting of War (IGGAW), a government-funded project that estimated the Russian invasion generated emissions equivalent to 236.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. According to the report, that total approximates the annual emissions of Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia combined.
“Our meticulous documentation of the carbon emissions of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will be the basis of Ukraine’s compensation claim,” said Lennard de Klerk, the report’s lead author. He noted there are pathways under international law to pursue such a claim, and if filed this would be the first case seeking state accountability for wartime emissions.
Separately, Kyiv has drafted legislation to guide a green recovery and attract investment, and it has committed to align reconstruction plans with European Union climate policies. Officials say the compensation claim and the green-rebuild law are intended to ensure reconstruction minimizes future emissions and strengthens resilience.
What happens next: Ukraine intends to use the IGGAW documentation as the evidentiary basis for a legal claim. The timing and forum for any formal submission have not been announced; pursuing compensation under international law would be precedent-setting and likely complex and protracted.