11.11.22 / COP27 / Article

The Guardian about Razom We Stand message at COP27: EU must step up

Svitlana Romanko comments to The Guardian: EU exports of Russian LNG has risen 46% year-year-on year in the first nine months of 2022, according to European Commission figures, the EU needs to step-up, act more globally and ban all fossil fuels and insurance. We also demand that US institutions divest the billions they have invested in Russia’s carbon bombs.

 

The Guardian writes about our work:

Svitlana Romanko is a Ukrainian lawyer, climate campaigner and founder of Razom We Stand, a grassroots group calling for a permanent embargo on Russian fossil fuels and an immediate end to all investment into Russian oil and gas companies. So far, she’s somewhat disappointed by COP27:

"I thought there would be more space to talk about the ongoing horrific fossil fuel war and the opportunity this should represent for a global green transformation, but it feels like these conversations are limited to the Ukrainian pavilion and not happening at the highest levels".

In recent weeks, Russian bombs have targeted the energy infrastructure in Ukraine, underscoring her own country’s unsustainable dependence on fossil fuels. But before the war, the country had started taking small steps towards energy transition, in part due to Russia’s occupation of the Donbas region where the coal mines are concentrated, and partly due to green tariffs boosting production. In 2021, 13.4% of Ukraine’s energy came from renewable sources, but has now lost over 80% of its wind power and 50% of solar production due to bombing in the southeast.

Romanko appreciated the European leaders who earlier this week used their short allotted speeches to mention the ongoing war, but added:

EU exports of Russian LNG has risen 46% year-year-on year in the first nine months of 2022, according to European Commission figures, the EU needs to step-up, act more globally and ban all fossil fuels and insurance. We also demand that US institutions divest the billions they have invested in Russia’s carbon bombs.

Source: The Guardian 11 November live coverage of COP27.

RAZOM WE STAND CALLS ON THE UKRAINIAN GOVERNMENT TO ALIGN WITH EU CLIMATE CHANGE PLANS, START MEASURING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
Press Release

As Ukraine's application for EU candidacy is being fast-tracked, and the EU is scrambling to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, the move to have Ukraine comply with environmental accounting standards (GHG protocol and SBTi) and make data on  GHG emissions public is vital. Only with such measures can Ukraine and the EU meet recommendations of the UN IPCC scientific report this week.

 

Energy response to Russia's war: open letter with four requests to the EU
Campaign Updates

                                                                                          To: Ursula von der Leyen  
Rue de la Loi / Wetstraat 200
1049 Brussels
Belgium

Frans Timmermans
Rue de la Loi / Wetstraat 200
1049 Brussels
Belgium

Charles Michel
Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 175  
B-1048 Bruxelles/Brussel 
Belgique/België
 

Razom We Stand calls on the Ukrainian authorities to implement greenhouse gas emissions accounting in accordance with international standards and open climate data for public access
Campaign Updates

The organization reached out to Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, and Chair of the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, Ihor Verner, to stress the critical importance of accounting for greenhouse gas emissions.

 


 

The methane rush off the climate cliff: EU and US must halt gas infrastructure expansion
Article

Razom We Stand strongly condemns the global push for gas infrastructure expansion, including LNG terminals, given the dire environmental and climate consequences, as well as financial risks involved in creating stranded assets. With excess windfall profits stemming from market volatility worsened by Putin’s brutal invasion in Ukraine, the gas industry must be subject to taxation and regulation, not supported with public subsidies for their expansion plans.