Authors

Nataliia Slobodian¹;  ¹ Canterbury Christ Church University, UK

Discussion

Armed conflict in eastern Ukraine erupted in early 2014 after Russia's annexation of Crimea the consequences which was Russian full-scale war on Ukraine in February 24, 2022. This unprovoked war had significant humanitarian consequences, primarily in the areas of food and energy security, as well as a devastating impact on the environment. The Ukrainian government estimates that measurable environmental damage has so far reached more than $55 billion and is still rising as the war continues. This includes direct war damage to forests, soil, water, air and pollution from the shelling of thousands of facilities holding toxic and hazardous materials. The long-term costs to Ukraine’s lost ecosystems are much more difficult to quantify. How can this massive environmental damage be mended? Ukraine has a clear goal of forcing Russia to pay reparations, including for environmental damage caused by the war. 

The Ukrainian case is viewed as a global system transformation fac- tor: it has seen transboundary effects throughout the regions and the world. Of growing importance is the need to investigate the main principles and approaches in respect of environmental peacebuilding. We argue that this current war against Ukraine has proved that the world needs new approaches to sustainable peacebuilding, including environmental reparation and justice, and we propose a possible reparation mechanism through the world’s first Carbon Board Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).