As Climate, Energy and Environmental Ministers of the G7 gather in Torino this week, Razom We Stand demands that they take immediate action against the ever-escalating crisis in Ukraine caused by the Kremlin's thirst for war, and support Ukraine's clean energy transition efforts.
The imperative to accelerate the clean energy transformation and combat climate change will be at the forefront of discussions at the 2024 G7 Ministers’ Meeting. However, while the G7 claims to be committed to these goals, it cannot ignore its role in purchasing Russia's fossil fuels, which fund Putin’s war chest and the horrific suffering it rains upon Ukraine.
Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia's revenues from fossil fuel exports have surpassed EUR 660 billion. G7 countries directly contributed to this revenue stream through purchases of Russian LNG and oil products. This financial support enables Russia to continue its brutal assault on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, which has devastating consequences for civilian populations, leaving thousands without electricity.
These attacks have permanently damaged Ukraine’s energy system, not only taking out generating stations but even trying unsuccessfully to go after the vast underground gas storage facilities the EU leaned on last winter to avoid its own energy shortages.
It is unacceptable that EU citizens are unwittingly contributing to funding over 125,000 alleged war crimes in Ukraine, which translates to the equivalent of every EU citizen effectively handing over approximately EUR 420 to the Kremlin. The G7 must recognise the direct link between fossil fuel income and Russia's capacity to fund its brutal assault on Ukraine.
Svitlana Romanko, Founder and Director of Razom We Stand, said: "The G7 cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the devastating consequences of Russia's fossil fuel exports, which directly fund its barbaric assault on Ukraine that continue to kill thousands of innocent people. Every penny spent on Russian LNG or oil products perpetuates this violence. The G7 has blood on its hands and must take immediate and decisive action to cut off this financial lifeline and support Ukraine's transition to cleaner energy sources."
More needs to be done to support Ukraine and wean G7 nations off of the Russian fossil fuel exports that fund the war, including a complete phase-out of Russian gas. We are now into the third year of Putin’s full-scale invasion, and the EU imports of Russian LNG have not dropped at all. In fact, in the second year of the invasion, EU import volumes of Russian LNG remain over 30% higher than the year before the invasion. Particularly problematic are high gas import levels in Spain, France, Germany, and the Netherlands.
Razom We Stand calls on the G7 to immediately implement enhanced enforcement measures, including immediate sanctions on vessels violating oil price caps, bans on the transshipment of Russian LNG in EU ports, and prohibitions on importing oil products from Russian crude.
Without further hesitation, the G7 should use its ample capacity to support Ukraine to rebuild its energy infrastructure cleaner and better. Ukraine's Soviet-era centralised energy system is under continued targeted destruction by Russia, with far over 50 per cent of its generation capacity blown up as of March 2024, and the damage is much worse since recent waves of attacks.
The G7 should act upon Ukraine's vast solar and wind energy potential. These resources alone can meet the country's electricity demand and make it safer through concrete and practical strategies for decentralised generation. There is no economic rationale for continued support of new gas investments, especially given the record profits of the oil and gas industry over the past two years since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Instead, investing in cheaper clean energy sources that are at an all-time high, like wind and solar, can stimulate economies, reduce climate damage costs, and benefit the environment.
As the world faces unprecedented challenges, the G7 has a moral obligation to stand in solidarity with Ukraine and take meaningful steps to address the root causes of this conflict: the profits Russia continues to amass from fossil fuels. Razom We Stand urges G7 leaders to seize this opportunity to prioritise peace, security, and environmental sustainability.
ENDS
Razom We Stand is a Ukrainian organisation active internationally, calling for a total and permanent embargo on Russian fossil fuels and an immediate end to all investment into Russian oil and gas companies by phasing out fossil fuels globally.
Svitlana Romanko was recently quoted on the White House's official website in response to the Biden administration's decision to pause LNG exports and has appeared in top-tier international press, including Washington Post, CNN, NBC, Politico, Bloomberg, The Hill, Financial Times, The Guardian, Der Spiegel, and Le Monde; a detailed list is here.
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Paraic Walker - [email protected]
International Communications Specialist Razom We Stand
