*[Enwl-eng] UWEC Work Group Issue # 20

[enwl]

UWEC Work Group Issue # 20We are continuing to analyze the environmental 
consequences of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

                              We







                                Dear Friends!


                                Today, Russia has renewed its energy 
terrorism attacks in Ukraine. Increasingly, thermal power plants, 
hydroelectric power plants (HPPs), and other energy centers are under 
attack. These attacks are made with the intent to sow panic among Ukrainians 
and to bring about the collapse of the country’s energy supply system. A 
number of large cities, including Kharkiv, have been left without power due 
to this shelling. Kyiv’s Trypilska, the city’s largest thermal power plant 
was destroyed. Ukraine’s response has been to conduct targeted strikes on 
Russian oil refineries. This results not only in disruptions to energy 
infrastructure and temporary blackouts, but also has a serious impact on the 
environment, such as petroleum product spills and atmospheric emissions at 
thermal power plants and gas and oil storage facilities. Restoring energy 
systems also requires additional resources.


                                Dniprovska HPP was damaged by shelling on 22 
March. Its destruction has the potential to result in a localized 
environmental catastrophe, as occurred at Kakhovka HPP in June 2023. 
Although the dam was not breached at this time, the shelling did cause a 
fuel leak that is polluting the Dnipro River watershed:

                                a.. Latest Russian attack on Dnipro HPP
                                Environmental problems caused by the war are 
aggravating the consequences of climate change. The first month of spring 
not only broke temperature records, but was also marked by severe flooding. 
Although the situation in Ukraine was not as catastrophic as in Russia and 
Kazakhstan, where the Orenburg and Aktobe regions were inundated, spring 
floods are nevertheless significantly changing the landscape, especially in 
war-affected areas. In particular, the basin of the former Kakhovka 
reservoir was flooded again. Read about spring floods around Kakhovka and 
the war’s other environmental consequences in our monthly review:

                                a.. Environmental consequences of Russia’s 
war in Ukraine. Review: March 2024
                                The war is also changing supply chains, 
directly affecting environmental conservation in different countries. We 
have written previously about the environmental impacts of navigational 
changes on the Danube River brought about by Russia’s full-scale invasion. 
Over the past year, the situation has not improved and today the Danube 
Biosphere Reserve in the Danube River delta is also threatened. Dredging and 
other canal expansion work not only reduce the success of biodiversity 
restoration programs, but also interfere with the operations of protected 
areas.

                                a.. More dredging, more freight: How the war 
in Ukraine threatens the Danube River Biosphere Reserve
                                The war’s effects can be felt even in the 
Arctic. Programs studying this region – an area experiencing catastrophic 
damage from climate change – are on the verge of failure after the start of 
the full-scale invasion. Without scientific collaboration, it is almost 
impossible to conduct international research in the Arctic. Meanwhile, the 
outbreak of Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine has resulted in the growing 
isolation of Russia’s scientific community. Both the West and Russia itself 
are refusing to engage in cooperation, increasingly resulting in closing 
scientific spaces behind a new “Iron Curtain”. Margaret Williams, senior 
fellow at the Arctic Initiative at the Belfer Center for Science and 
International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, examines 
ways to avoid the loss of collaborative research efforts focused on the 
Arctic:

                                a.. What does Russia’s war in Ukraine mean 
for global biodiversity conservation efforts?
                                The consequences of the war in Ukraine will 
affect life and ecology in the region, perhaps for decades. It is important 
not only to collect data today, but also to seek solutions to these 
environmental problems. In 2023 and 2024 we collaborated with Reporters 
Without Borders and the Svea Green Foundation on a webinar series sharing 
data collection methods and ways of covering the war’s environmental 
consequences. UWEC experts and members of our editorial team are also 
regularly invited to present at other events. You can read a summary of 
these events, as well watch them in this special summary:

                                a.. Looking back on our 2023-2024 webinar 
series
                                You can read all of our analysis and news of 
the environmental consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on our 
website, on Twitter (X), and on Facebook and Telegram.

                                We wish you strength and peace!

                                Alexej Ovchinnikov

                                Editor, UWEC Work Group



























                  UWEC · Charnali, 2 · Charnali 6400 · Georgia




            From: UWEC Work Group
            Sent: Monday, April 22, 2024 10:29 AM
            Subject: UWEC Work Group Issue # 20




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