UN officials are urging the European Union (EU) and other national governments to contribute funds for the cleanup and restoration of ecosystems in Ukraine that have been devastated by the conflict. Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), is scheduled to meet with the EU’s environment commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius to discuss ways to monitor and finance the rehabilitation of millions of hectares of burnt forests, damaged coastlines, and protected areas in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian environment ministry estimates that the losses resulting from environmental damage amount to €49.5 billion, while the World Bank has calculated that the cost of removing debris related to Russia’s invasion is approximately $5 billion. UNEP officials have expressed particular concern over the heavy use of asbestos in Ukrainian homes and the overloading of existing waste disposal infrastructure.
Brussels is currently discussing a four-year financing plan for Ukraine, although gaining agreement from all 27 member states may be difficult given the EU’s own budgetary constraints. Last year, Ukraine became the first non-EU country to join Brussels’ LIFE program, which provides financing for environmental projects.
According to estimates from the Ukrainian government, greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the conflict in the first year alone amount to 33 million tons of CO2 equivalent, which is equivalent to Lithuania’s annual output. However, recent data presented by Dutch expert Lennard de Klerk at the Bonn climate summit suggests that the actual figure could be more than three times higher.
The meeting between UNEP and the European Commission follows the recent breach of the Kakhovka dam, which caused catastrophic flooding and left one million Ukrainians without drinking water. Thousands of people have been evacuated from flood-affected homes, and several protected areas have suffered partial destruction. Ukrainian officials have raised concerns that mines from the dam’s vicinity, near the frontline, might have been washed out to sea. There are also worries that the accumulated sediment at the bottom of the dam could become a dust bowl as it dries.
A UNEP official emphasized the importance of considering human health and the environment when allocating funds for reconstruction. Sinkevičius is expected to discuss with UNEP ways to monitor and document the environmental devastation in Ukraine, as well as the necessary financing for nature restoration.
In March, the World Bank and its partners estimated that Ukraine needs $411 billion for reconstruction, taking into account the damage caused by the war so far. The destruction of infrastructure in the areas of transport, housing, and energy constitutes a significant portion of this cost. Nevertheless, the Ukrainian government is actively working on 54 environmental reconstruction projects and is advocating for environmental issues to be a focus of the conference on Ukraine’s recovery taking place in London this week, which will be attended by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Jorge Moreira da Silva, executive director of the UN Office for Projected Services, recently visited the south of Ukraine and described the damage as “tragic.” He emphasized the need to fully consider the environmental cost in the recovery efforts, highlighting that ensuring Ukraine’s recovery aligns with biodiversity and climate goals is not only beneficial for Ukraine but also supports broader green transition efforts in Europe.
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