Fossil fuel lobby uses Ukrainian conflict for own interests: UN chief
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres believes that the fossil fuel lobby is now cynically using the war in Ukraine to try to lock in a high carbon future.
Interested parties are now using the Ukrainian war to promote the use of fossil fuels, despite the urgent need to transition to renewable energy sources, according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday.
"Fossil fuel interests are now cynically using the war in Ukraine to try to lock in a high carbon future. A shift to renewables is crucial to mending our broken global energy mix and offering hope to millions suffering climate impacts today," Guterres said on Twitter.
Fossil fuel interests are now cynically using the war in Ukraine to try to lock in a high carbon future.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) April 30, 2022
A shift to renewables is crucial to mending our broken global energy mix & offering hope to millions suffering climate impacts today.
It is worth noting that from selling fossil fuels to the EU, Russia has nearly doubled its revenues during the two months of the war in Ukraine, benefitting from soaring prices even as volumes have been reduced.
According to a Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air examination of shipping movements and cargos, Russia has received around €62 billion from oil, gas, and coal exports in the two months since the operation began.
Imports into the EU totaled nearly €44 billion in the last two months, compared to about €140 billion for the entire year last year, or about €12 billion per month.
On February 24, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk requested help to defend them from intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops. Western countries and their allies responded by imposing comprehensive sanctions against Russia. The European Union has also vowed to reduce its dependency on Russian energy.
On April 8, the EU announced the fifth round of anti-Russian sanctions, which included a restriction on coal and other solid fossil fuel imports.
At the same time, the EU has been seeking alternate LNG and oil sources, as well as considering increasing its coal output.