Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the European Union has paid Russia more than 38 billion euros for fossil fuels. EU is considering the ways of reducing dependence on Russian gas and oil, but mostly there are gradual “soft” measures. If the EU does not abandon all fossil fuels from Russia and Belarus in the near future, it will still provide the aggressor with financial opportunities to continue the war against Ukraine and mean their complicity in Russian aggression.
During two weeks, representatives of three Ukrainian environmental NGOs – “Ecoaction”, “Ecoclub” and “Ecoltava” took part in online meetings with government and business representatives of Germany and Finland. Environmental activists have called for an embargo on Russian energy.
Representatives of the Ecoclub Andriy Martyniuk and Nataliya Lushnikova told European officials and businessmen about the situation in Ukraine, in particular, in the Rivne region. Together with colleagues Kostiantyn Krynytskyi and Anna Akermann from the NGO Ecoaction and Yulia Melnyk (Pashkovska), NGO Ekoltava, they expressed a common position on the need to abandon the use of Russian energy as soon as possible.
Environmental activists also discussed recorded crimes against the environment and people, calling for immediate actions, as each day is a new suffering, new crimes, and new victims of the war in Ukraine.
“Ten kilometers from my house, the Russians tried to bomb the largest local TV tower with Iskander missiles. 21 people were killed and there are no military facilities nearby. European money is still coming to Russia, and its flow is ten times higher than all financial aid to Ukraine, “said Andriy Martyniuk, executive director of the Ecoclub.
The meeting with officials from the Corporate Governance Department of the Prime Minister of Finland Office was held on April 13 with the assistance of Greenpeace Norden activists and the Ecoaction. Subsequently, on April 19, environmentalists took part in a meeting with representatives of the Secretariat of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. It was organized under the support of the environmental and human rights organization Urgewald and NGO “Ecoaction”.
It should be added that the European companies Fortum and Uniper still have eleven gas-fired power plants in Russia. According to an official statement, Fortum will not sign any new long-term contracts to supply of Russian natural gas. At the same time, the existing contracts have not been terminated, so Russian energy is still feeding the various sectors of the economy and households in Europe.
The position of Greenpeace on the results of the meeting can be found here.
Ecoclub also invites you to join the global campaign to end dependence on Russian fossil fuels.
Reference:
In early April, the European Union announced the abandonment of Russian coal, however, EU plans to reduce dependence on Russian oil and gas gradually. Find out who still uses Russian energy here.
On April 10, Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin said the country was ready to quickly give up Russian natural gas and oil.
On April 20, German ‘s Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock said Germany planned to halve oil import from Russia by the summer and suspend it by the end of 2022.
Contacts for detailed information:
Nataliya Lushnikova, NGO “Ecoclub”,
lushnikova@ecoclubrivne.org, +380 67 778 5710
Main photo: HANNIBAL HANSCHKE / GETTY IMAGES.